Sept 12, 2020
We’ve had our camp tent at the Pymatuning Yacht Club (the “Club”) for about 6 weeks now. It is an hour and a half from home, a perfect distance to come on a whim for the day/night. We happened on it at the end of June looking for a place to put our sailboat. We had no intention of joining a Club but God just laid it in our laps, so we have put in an application and it will be voted on in January if we are suitable to become members! In the meantime, we are encouraged to use all facilities to see if it is a good fit for us as well….it is proving to be a very good fit!
We watch the sunset on the lake, read, get a good night’s rest, and then return to the Clubhouse in the AM with our coffee to watch the sunrise. It’s those little things that we tend to take for granted in our normal work life. God truly had a plan we couldn’t even imagine for us this summer/fall.
This is my first writing of a new blog. What it’s going to be called, I do not know. What I do know is that I have to find a purpose and meaning in this next chapter of life called retirement. I keep asking God what His plan is for me, and all I hear is to take time to write. It’s been a couple months since we’ve decided we need to actively retire, and it is very different. I’ve been training Jen, our new Integrator, to take over my job and she is doing a fantastic job and I very confident she can do it, but where does that leave me?
We’ve created some pretty good jobs in the past 11 years for those wanting to work and make a difference. It tends to be too much for many who just want to put in their time and not be held responsible for their duties, and of course, that is always our fault.
As I’m typing this, I am sitting on the Clubhouse porch in a cool breeze watching Denny fish on the point and other fishermen in their boats on the Lake. It is so peaceful. There’s an empty chair beside me for someone God is bringing here for me to talk to. I don’t to look too busy because they may not stop thinking they are interrupting. I plan to ask them what purpose they’ve found since retiring and coming here. Not everyone is retired, but many are who have camps here.
Yesterday our winemaker put in his 2 week notice, so our camping plans will be changing for the next 2 months as Denny trains someone new. We knew he wasn’t a good fit for our company culture, but we were hoping the change would bin in 1st quarter, not going into the busy season. As owners, most big changes tend to fall back on us, but I do see this changing with our current leadership Team of Jen & Barb and we’ve just added Chrisi as Main location manager this past week.
We will leave here this afternoon and head back home to repair a broken window in our new camper in preparation for our trip this coming week. A stone was launched while staff was weed eating around our patio at home and broke the front kitchen window! It is safety glass so it is in a thousand pieces!
We leave on Tuesday for Bear Run campground in Porterville which is close to Lake Arthur where our Big Blue Wave sailboat is sitting waiting for us to take her out for some more great adventures!
It’s 9:30AM , I’m looking out over the Lake at all the fishing boats. There must be a dozen or so in the mist that is still hanging around. They appear to be all men closer to shore, and only dark spots in the shape of boats in the distance. I wonder what the purpose is for each of them. Some boats have just 1 guy in them. Some come close to shore, cast a few times, and then take off for another area just 50 ft away and do the same thing all over again. They seem inpatient, or just in a hurry like the rest of their lives I wonder where the rest of their family is. Why are they out here fishing? Do they need the food or is it just a hobby. Then I ask, “God, what do you see on the Lake today?”
“I see men who have gotten away from the noise in their life so they can hear my voice. They are thinking through the difficulties they are facing and searching for answers. That guy is having trouble with his wife, that guy is struggling at work, etc. Pray for them. Here is where I can be heard.”
Wow, this put a whole new perspective to my morning…and then Ed walked up and took a seat. Not in the chair next to me, but on the wooden porch railing. He is a widower who just needed to talk. He told me of his family when they were young and how they camped and sailed. We talked about business and staffing. His wife has been gone for a few years now, but he feels so much a part of the Club family and that keeps him going. In the end, he was looking up local wineries with restaurants that he thought we would like to try out. Thanks Ed! We will surely check them out in the next few years!
Actively Retiring 