Missing in action and rebuilding my life
My apologies, but I've been missing in action for the past, well, a long time. Over the past 8 or 9 months or so, I've experienced a couple of life changing events. Life sort of went haywire and I was struggling to handle it all.
First, I lost my job, and found that no one is really interested in hiring an almost 60 year old who spent the better part of the last 30+ years in tech. Ageism in hiring is real and I'm finding that out the hard way. If anything, my struggle with finding full-time work made me realize that maybe it's time to move on from the tech field to something a bit less stressful. Before losing my job, I was working part-time as a teacher for a nonprofit based here in St. Louis. I was able to join the team full-time. Lots of strange hours but I really enjoy the work and I go home a hell of a lot less stressed compared to when I worked in tech. Am I making as much? Not even close. But going home happy and less stressed makes up for it.
Second, I went through a divorce. The divorce was relatively easy compared to what so many experience. My ex-wife and I had a lawyer draw up papers, we signed them, the judge signed them, and a few months later, the marriage was over. The divorce was "easy" but that doesn't make the experience any easier. My ex-wife and I don't hate each other. We were just going in different directions and felt it was time to call it quits. But I still feel like I failed. I still live close to her so I get to see my 15-year-old son all the time. He can literally walk to my apartment and comes over whenever he wants. My daughter lives nearby with her boyfriend so we get to see each other all the time, too. But after 20 years of marriage, it was over in a few months, and that's going to take some time to get over.
With the divorce over, and working full-time again, it's time to start rebuilding my life. At the age of nearly 60, it's weird to say that I'm rebuilding my life, but it feels like this is exactly what I'm doing. And rebuilding my life includes getting back into things that I really enjoyed. After a few months of no running, I'm back at it. I'm even training for a marathon again. And I still commute by bike, and always will, but it's starting feel enjoyable again. I even go for rides just for fun. Crazy, right?
Well, anyway, I want to start writing again. I've never been a great writer but to me, that doesn't really matter. I just want to write and hope that others will enjoy what I write and get something out it. Over time, you'll start seeing more posts from me as I slowly get back to living again.