Fenwick Island Lighthouse on Delaware Maryland border.
Photo by Mike Hartley
Looking up – I haven’t ridden my motorcycle in almost 5 years now. It needs massive work. But I remember how much I enjoyed the unrestricted view of riding a bike. Now that I’m a full-time cager my only view is that sunroof which I almost forgot I had after this long winter. But the other day when it hit the 70’s I opened that up and remembered how much I liked looking up at the sky. And this triggered an old thought to a project I started last year called Sunroof shooting. I think I’ll get back to that one and finish it up.
But really the looking up part is how I’m viewing this weekend. We’re going to book our beach week and have dinner with some friends, see one of our children and try to relax and watch some hoops. Also I hope to fit in some hours of shooting on both Saturday and Sunday for some fresh images. Yeah there will be some chores thrown in, but its a weekend I hope leave me entering the next week feeling refreshed.
A quick observation on retirement – Had a wonderful breakfast at Chick and Ruth’s in Annapolis with an old friend from the Post this morning. He retired a few years back but we still enjoy each others company and stories so we try to have a breakfast several times a year. One thing I take away from those meetings is how happy I see him in his retirement and it makes me look forward to mine for three reasons.
The first would be the opportunity to have more time to pursue my own interest of photography and writing full-time. Next is to be able to spend more time with family and friends. And lastly be lucky enough to be healthy enough to enjoy it. I figure I have 8-10 years of IT work left in me and if I’m lucky enough to be financially stable at that point I might just enter retirement. But if there is another market crash where we loss 35-40% of our 401’s again that might push me working into my 70’s.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d retire now if money weren’t and issue. And by retire I mean switch career choices. While I’ve enjoyed the technical work I’ve done and do, it’s not what makes me tick anymore.
