I've been retired for some time now. In a former life I created and directed advertising for products you use, even the food you eat. Now my wife and I travel on the same planes I wrote about and helped sell. Clients looked to me for direction. So why is it so hard for my wife and me to chart our direction in life now?

I guess we're looking for something that's hard to put into words. We're financially fortunate, as our broker says, and live well...so well that we own two homes. But as Vachel Lindsey, a past poet laureate of Illinois, once said, “We've survived adversity but may not survive prosperity.” How Ironic. We have good fortune, good health, yet we both feel weighed down by the burdens and trappings of property responsibilities, repairs, renovations, upkeep upkeep upkeep!

I haven't said this before, but I wish we could just open a new door and recapture the joy and sense of freedom when we were first married. Maybe we all wish for a special place that so few ever find. A place that when the time comes to grow old gracefully, we can continue to raise a toast to our blessings of life, love, and laughter together.