A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Retirement is the title of an article I wrote back in 2006 for the NEW MEANS News, the monthly newsletter of the financial planning practice I ran at that time. It's also the story of pretty much everyone's life, including mine. The latest funny thing - funny ha ha, funny strange, funny unexpected - to have befallen me is a powerful urge to write again. After a several year hiatus from writing, a confluence of serendipitous recent events brings me to this keyboard today to write this piece.
Perhaps not coincidentally, The Confluence is the most salient geographical feature of Auburn, CA, the small city to which I recently relocated. The Confluence refers to, well, the confluence of the North and Middle forks of the American River. The two rivers come together in spectacular fashion at the bottom of a deep canyon, with views of windy roads, outrageously steep trails, and the highest bridge in California as a backdrop. It wouldn't be a stretch to call it one of the finer works of art in Mother Nature's portfolio.
Life imitates art once again. First, as part of a volunteer effort for the nonprofit Bike Like A Girl, I found myself raising my hand for the tasks that involved pulling words together to convey the organization's mission, values, and goals. I jumped at the chance to write a post for the blog. Next up, a LinkedIn notification reminded me about Susan Weiner's Investment Writing blog, where I discovered she was only days away from launching a daily April Writing Challenge. Committing to Carl Richards' ("The Sketch Guy") Transaction Cleanse ensured I'd have a source of endless material. Finally, an email from the folks at Live Your Legend announced a Start-A-Blog Challenge, and I could almost hear the universe trying to tell me something. The confluence of these ideas could be so much bigger than the sum of the parts. Unlike the various forks of the American River, I can't consult a map to see where it will all flow from here, but I'm confident I will be richer for having seen the views along the way.