What season are you in? I’ve found that the new usage for the term “season of life,” to be quite useful. The traditional use for season of life referred to the age of the person, with Spring equating to childhood and Winter compared to old age:
“Youth like summer morn, age like winter weather;” – William Shakespeare.
However, now season is being used to describe the particular life situations that we find ourselves in, and it’s not as directly connected to our age.
Seasons Past
Do you remember being in the chauffeur season? If you had older children and teenagers there would have been a time in your life when you lived in you car: the chauffeur season. You spent your evenings and weekends driving them to an assortment of practices, lessons and part-time jobs. You waited “patiently” in your car to pick them up from a friend’s house, or an evening school event. This season is only loosely connected to your age. It is connected to your life situation at the time: raising kids. If you didn’t have kids in your home, you wouldn’t experience this season.
Acknowledge Your Season
What’s the benefit of recognizing your specific season? Each season has its rewards and its challenges. Accepting them and working with them instead of resisting them makes your life less stressful. During the chauffeur season, a good travel mug, snacks, podcasts and audio books make the waiting and driving a little more palatable. Recognizing that this time in the car with your child is an excellent opportunity to chat and bond is the reward.
Turn, Turn, Turn
The nature of seasons are that they change. They are transitory. But unlike the traditional understanding of seasons of life that end with Winter and that’s it, this new definition is more malleable. It allows for seasons to come around again, to repeat and be reinvented.
This Season
Being retired in midlife, I’m in a season of reflection and reinvention that I haven’t experienced since my university years. It’s different this time because of the life experience I’ve accrued. However, it’s similar because this season doesn’t involve caring for children or working full-time. There are also challenges with trying to keep the momentum going towards my goals without the structure of a work routine. However, there are rewards too, in the form of a flexible calendar and endless opportunities to explore areas of interest. I’m experiencing both seasons as fairly solitary because I’m not part of a daily group of people. Recognizing that challenge about the season of reflection and reinvention, means that this time around I’m being more intentional about connecting with friends, and joining groups to be around others.
What seasons do you recall being in? What were the challenges and rewards? Comment below.
Retired, And Now What? 