Road Ahead?

"I finally figured out the only reason to be alive is to enjoy it."

— Rita Mae Brown

This quote touches the core of where I'm at right now. Work's going to be tough, it's exactly where and what I should be doing, and there's still so very much to learn. Every day, I discover more of what I didn't know I didn't know. And it's fun, even if I do go to bed exhausted each and every night. I know I gave it my all and there's tremendous peace in that feeling.

One of our elderly patients "adopted" me over the last couple of weeks and in these periodic, in-between-meeting visits, she's taught me so much about life. At 96, she has a lot of life experience to share. One of the biggest blessings has been the perspective she's shared with me- I'm about 1/3 her age and take on these huge worries and stressors and concerns. And for what?

I want to make my life exciting enough so that I have juicy, unique stories to tell someone when it's ME laying in that hospital bed. I want to keep enacting change, going against the grain whenever possible, and doing crazy, spontaneous things like driving to US Cellular Field and buying cheap White Sox bleacher seats on a random Wednesday evening. In short, I want to go to bed exhausted at the end of each day. That's how I know I'm giving life my all.

It's that time of year when my foot automatically disengages from the gas pedal, as if controlled by another power, to force me into a little coasting at work to allow the engines some rest and refueling. As part of that refueling, I am going to decrease my work hours a bit, resume my running schedule, fight crime, continue with my wonderful theology coursework, stir up some trouble, visit new friends, learn guitar, and give blogging a rest. I love reading about my own adventures a year, two, or three later. It helps me to see my own progress and success in huge struggles along the way.

However, I have less and less from my work world that I can share here. Between the negotiation of massive contracts, more operational moves, construction projects, and movement toward accountable care in the health system, I do not feel comfortable publishing some of the intimate details. I've had to start a separate journal in which I work through these difficult work situations and record them for reflection later.

I'm not sure if this is the end of Just Keep Swimming. If it is, thank you for reading my stories and laughing/crying/cringing along with me! I may still visit this forum for inspirational stories, work-related events that taught me a non-work-related mission, or other funnies, but I'm really not sure. I have no idea what the road ahead looks like or what adventures it will entail.

Until then, go live your life in a way so that it's juicy, adventureous, and spontaneous enough so you can easily entertain people who sit at your hospital bedside when you're old and gray!