Thanksgiving is days away and it's time for my "countdown" to giving thanks.
This morning I am grateful to be alive.
I woke up in the middle of the night realizing that next year I will be 70 and retired. This is a formidable transition for me. Even though, to my core, I understand life's evolving developmental stages, I lay awake thinking that the end is near every moment of my life. I began to wonder if all my "affairs" are in order, and what would happen for the cats if I suddenly died. Needless to say it took awhile for me to return to sleep, and when I finally did, I had many vivid, nostalgic dreams conjuring up old friends I haven't seen in a long while.
On Saturday I gave a talk at our local synagogue where I discussed my latest book, Everyone Needs Attention: Helping Young Children Thrive, going beyond the book’s focus on the needs of children to engage everyone in an interactive discussion of our needs for attention across the age span, raising questions about how these needs may change and what we can do to satisfy them as we get older. So aging and retirement is actively on my mind. Mind you, I am not feeling sad or anxious about this. Just looking at it from all angles:
Exploring, examining, confronting.
And so, when I woke up early this morning I lay quietly before I rose up to give the cats their treats, make coffee, and gather up the last of my things to pack for my trip to Washington DC - to NAEYC - to give a three hour presentation, meet up with fantabulous colleagues, attend committee meetings, and sign books in the Exhibits Hall.
And I smiled to myself realizing that this morning, as my blogging countdown to Thanksgiving begins ... I am grateful to be alive!
A year ago at Mining Nuggets: Countdown to Thanksgiving, 2017
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