No, no, no. Not a job as in a real job...eight to five and all that. Of course, the paycheck (ah, yes, I remember those...) would be nice.
No, I'm looking for the right volunteer opportunity to do something meaningful. It's the next phase of my retirement. This phase does not come as any kind of surprise to me. Volunteering is something I had planned on when contemplating retirement.
So I think now is the time. The first phase has just started to grow a tad bit stale. After six months, my house is clean, my closets are organized, my files purged, knitting and stitching projects have been completed, new ones started, garden's been planted, our redwood planters and wishing well have been stained, and I even made a new address book with my new database on my new computer.
The days go by unbelievably fast. But I'm able to keep up nicely with household chores, cooking, baking and shopping, with time to spare. I am now, like Peggy Lee, asking, "Is that all there is?"
So I'm pondering what would add more meaning to my days. Mind you, I am not bored. Just feeling a wee bit guilty that I'm not "contributing to society." I am, after all, a remnant of the 60s.
I'm joining a new (to me) church in the community so there may be possibilities there. I'm not one to join committees and there always seem to be plenty of those in churches.
The library? Yeah, surrounded by books, that could be good.
The hospital? No, they already make lots of money and don't need my free labor. Besides, they have all those auxiliary ladies.
I'm looking for that special feeling that comes from giving of yourself and knowing you did a job that was necessary for someone to do in order that the world might be a better place. And you did it in your own special, unique way.
So it's part charitable and part selfish, you might say. You do something that needs to be done and, in turn, you're appreciated and you get that warm feeling in your heart.
My eyes and ears will be open. My heart already is.
