Today is a momentous day for me. Today I start a year-long journey to reflect on my life so far and figure out what I want to do for the rest of it. As the ultimate gift, Howard has granted me a year off from a lifetime of working to step back and decide what I want to be when I grow up. You could say it’s a form of midlife crisis, yet, as Howard points out, if you do the math, I’m probably past that point. Regardless of what you call it, I feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to step off the treadmill, clear my head, and see where life takes me.

Do I have a plan? Short-term, I have no plan. The initial objective is to decompress so that I can think clearly about what’s next. The next few months, I’ll focus on creating some order out of the chaos of my material life, with some house projects thrown in for an additional feeling of satisfaction. I followed through on Day 1 of my “starting to run” program. I plan to cook a lot. Also on deck is bonding with Bella (and stealing her heart from Howard, if it’s possible) now that I’m responsible for most of her many daily walks.

Once I start to relax, I’ll see what I miss about the challenges of what my (week)daily life as software engineer has involved and what needs to be adjusted. Then, the exploration will begin.

If you have any ideas for me, please share!