Our Next Chapter Begins

People do not quit playing because they grow old;

they grow old because they quit playing.

                                        - Oliver Wendell Holmes

 

April 2015

In 2015,  after three decades with a Fortune 50 corporation, we retired. We’re grateful for all our careers provided us, we’ll hold on tightly to many wonderful friendships that have grown over the years, and we’re already galloping into our new lives.

  

Bay St. Louis 

We launched a complete renovation of our 110-year-old home (“Fais Do Do”, meaning a Cajun dance party) in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Located just 40 miles from the French Quarter, Bay St. Louis is the traditional beach cottage community for New Orleans families. We also purchased the small cottage next door and are renovating it to host family and friends. After decades of global travel and corporate relocations we’re ready to set down local roots. Sailing, fishing, the Mockingbird café – we’ll have a vibrant home base in retirement with lots of Cajun dance parties. 

 Camino de Santiago de Compostela

How to transition from work careers into retirement? Our answer is by walking 500 miles. While our houses in Bay St. Louis are being renovated, we’ll be walking an average of 13 miles every day from late April until early June from the south of France over the Pyrenees and across Spain’s northern coast. It’s a Christian pilgrimage that’s been done continuously since the 9th century. Google “Camino de Santiago de Campostela” or “The Way of St. James” if you’d like to know more. 

Our Next Chapter



We have three lovely daughters married to men we adore. 
Six grandchildren help make our lives very complete. 

Bay St. Louis is now home, and we’ll be in Colorado and Europe a lot. We’ll engage the world through civic, fraternal, business, cultural,religious, and philanthropic interests. 

Our plan is to explore our passions, keep learning, and make new commitments as we evolve into new lives that are far different (and differently rewarding) from today.

We bridged, kedged, and Kondo’ed ….

Building bridges …. We began planning our retirement about five years ago with a weekend workshop at the Center for Creative Retirement in Asheville, NC.  Rather than finances and savings, it was all about “How am I going to use this gift of time and freedom that retirement affords?’’ A key concept was ‘building bridges’, meaning in the years prior to retirement one should transition toward life interests that may have been constrained during our working years. 

One of Ning’s bridges was becoming a Certified Gallup StrengthsFinder Coach so that in retirement she can help individuals and groups capitalize on their God-given talents. For John it was learning to sail while in Milwaukee with the goal of sailing out of the Bay-Waveland Yacht Club in retirement.

Kedging ….. A highly recommended book at the Asheville workshop was “Younger Next Year.” It promotes an active senior lifestyle with focus on health and exercise. The authors introduce the concept of “kedging.” A sailing ship can be maneuvered by rowing an anchor out a ways from the ship, dropping it, and then hauling (kedging) on the anchor line to move the ship in the intended direction. In life, kedging means setting goals and taking action to pull oneself forward. We made a huge kedge when we dropped our anchor in Bay St. Louis, MS, and began pulling ourselves toward our new home base in retirement. 

Kondo’ing …. There’s a current bestseller by Marie Kondo about purging one’s belongings to create to a simpler, calmer life.  With all of our corporate moves over the years we thought we were living fairly lean in our Milwaukee apartment. But when we adopted the Kondo method of pulling every single thing out of every closet, drawer, and shelf, grouping them, and then asking “What things do we really love and want to keep?”  we were surprised by so much STUFF, so little that we really cared about. 

We gave away most everything in our 3400 sq ft Milwaukee apartment. Carload after carload went to Goodwill, furniture and home furnishings were delivered to people moving into a first apartment or home.  It was wonderful to help others. And it felt totally liberating to hit the reset button on all of our accumulated belongings. 

When renovation of our Bay St Louis home is complete in September 2015 we’ll kedge into our retirement house with all new furnishings right down to new pots and pans …. sprinkled with those few things that made the Kondo cut in Milwaukee.



Here's what's left... 

Bay St Louis -- Becoming Bayrats

New Orleans has always been one of our favorite cities. We visited at least once or twice each year for the food and fun.  On each trip,  we’d visit Ning’s cousin Nora and her husband Ed, and we grew close with them and their growing family of five children.

When Ed & Nora relocated 40 miles east to the quiet, family-friendly community of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, we were introduced to the charms of this small beach town.  No high-rise condos, no tourist shops. It was a stable community of 6,500 people, many of them New Orleanians with beach cottages, who enjoy a lively culture of restaurants and bars, music and the arts, and sailing and sifhing.  

We saw the town in the aftermath of Katrina and  we witnessed the community claw its way back to a new level of vibrancy. 

About four years ago we had a quiet epiphany. In retirement, we had the means to live anywhere in the world, but we wanted to become Bayrats. We were ready to put our roots down deep in a small. connected community.  

We bought a 110-year-old cottage in Old Town Bay St. Louis, just 1000 feet from the beach, as our home base in retirement.  A year later we bought the little cottage next door as a comfortable spot for family and friends to stay when they visit.

Fais Do Do in process

Fais Do Do in process

 And now our vision is becoming reality.  Over the past 18 months we worked with Ed (architect) and Nora (interior designer) to plan every detail of our main house and guest cottage.  



Front room before

Front room in process (do you think
we're crazy...?)

We lined up a contractor to deconstruct the house and rebuild it to exacting plans.  We're saving everything we can in an old house while making it fit our modern lives, too. 



Garçonnière is the guest cottage next to Fais Do Do

Before interior demolition began, we hosted a neighborhood party in our vacant home.  Tables and chairs were borrowed from the local parish. Food was catered by the local deli. And 50 of our future neighbors and friends came to celebrate another sign of the Bay coming back from Katrina.





Our first party!  We met so many fun people....

The Spiritual Aspect of the Camino -- getting prepared

Our Camino adventure has a lot of aspects to it.  It's a transition to a new life in retirement. It's a shared experience as a couple.  It also has a deeply spiritual meaning.  

We're in a profound meditation walking these mountain paths in Spain knowing that we're following in the footsteps of millions of pilgrims since the Middle Ages.  Sharing this experience and assuming they were as exhausted (more so!) as we are...

My Spiritual Director -- Sister Diane 

Sister Diane

A spiritual director helps one develop a closer relationship with God and to better discern how the Holy Spirit is leading in one's life. 

Sister Diane, a Franciscan Sister, has been my spiritual director for almost eight years.  She has guided me -- helped me through tough times -- and most importantly, inspired me.  

One of her key messages is to celebrate the moment. I think of her with almost every step on the Camino.  I live that step -- experience that moment - instead of rushing towards the mountain ahead.  

Joyce Rupp, also a Franciscan Sister, wrote a lovely book on the Camino, Walk in a Relaxed Manner, that focuses on this type of gratitude as well.  

Sister Diane, along with her other Sisters are praying for us on the Camino.  It means so much to us!  

The Pilgrim Blessing -- Father Mike
Pilgrims are traditionally sent off from their home with a special blessing.  Father Mike at our home in Bay St Louis, Mississippi, did this for us. My darling cousin Nora and her husband Ed were there, too.  

The Saints who walk with me

St Catherine and St Therese 

Many people who walk the Camino name their walking sticks.  I know I would not be able to do this walk without the support of my sticks - they get me up hills, they get me over treacherous ground, they're a blessing every day.  

St. Anthony and St. James
 (plus a tiny bit of bling added by me)

I named one stick St. Catherine Laboure (of the Miraculous Medal), the other is St. Therese of Lisieux (who has helped with prayer in my life in many ways).    

My walking shoes remind me of saints, too.  My left shoe is St Anthony (who has supported me as I did public speaking) and the right is St James (the saint of the Camino itself).



Tools of the trade

On the sleeve of my jacket

John bought me this Rosary - 

my friends had it blessed 

in Rome. Every medal represents 

a special person - a special prayer.

I pray the rosary as I walk.  

I also do the prayers  of the Divine Office as often as I can.

There is an iPhone app
that helps you pray the
Divine Office.  

  

A special gift

This pin was made 

by a woman in Athens, Greece.

I love all that the Miraculous Medal represents as a reminder of Mary's love for us and of her son, Jesus. We had 100 small pins made by hand with the scallop shell that represents the Camino, a commemoration of the year 2015, and of course the Miraculous Medal.  

We've given out 10 so far to pilgrims whose story has touched our hearts -- 90 more to go!