Newburgh, Indiana River Front. Photo by Karen D. Austin
When I was in my mid twenties, I spent a lot of time creating a life plan.As I travel through life, I find that planning my life out 50 years ahead is futile.
Spending a lot of time thinking about the next 10 years or even the next 5 years ends up distracting me too much from current opportunities.
Now I visualize my life more in six months increments. I might project a little further ahead, but I don't spend much time doing that, and those plans remain more ethereal.
Right now, I'm in a great state of flux.
I'm selling my Kansas house in May and moving to Indiana.
Not only do I have to manage a lot of pragmatics, I am managing emotional and conceptual aspects of my life. A lot of my identity is wrapped up in my social connections and roles in various organizations.
By moving 600 plus miles away, I will have to reinvent myself. Again.
I wouldn't call this an identity crisis. By midlife, I have changed my external situation and my social connections several times. I have a fairly consistent core identity. This allows me to have faith and remain calm during a period of great change.
I'm not sure what roles I will adopt in Indiana. I will explore opportunities for paid work and volunteer work during my first six months as a new resident. I might end up doing work in gerontology, technical writing, or English education, since I have experience in these fields.
I could end up entering an entirely new field. That's what happened when I moved to Kansas.
After I unpack the Indiana house, I might work on a vision board.
My teen daughter has a lot of craft supplies, or I might create a digital one. Our new home is located fewer than two miles from the Ohio River. The river is pictured above with the Town Hall and local library on the left. There is a walking path there on the right (out of view between the line of cars and the river).
I will take the dog on long walks and think about how to adopt roles in my new community.
Related:
The More Things Change