Retirement

As you know, this year I decided to retire and am now in the process of learning a new way of life. No, I am not quite to retirement age (I have about 30 years to go) but I thought I should retire when my kids were young and when I still had all the energy I need to do all the things I want.
My first week of retirement I drove my family up the West Coast, hiked around the woods, and played on beaches. I spent a week with family in Washington State and went golfing (it wouldn’t be retirement without golf). Then we decided to spend some of our retirement money to travel to Europe and show our kids some sites. From Europe we continued our journey to Israel and spent the first day lying in the sun on a sandy beach along the Mediterranean Sea. Retirement to this point was great. Hotels, restaurants, site seeing, golf, and wearing Hawaiian shirts. (I guess the Hawaiian shirt thing could also mean that I am a Senior Pastor of a church in Southern California).
After our time in Tel Aviv we headed to our vacation home in Jerusalem. It is in a beautiful neighborhood with chic shops and cafes two minutes away. Retirement couldn't be going any better.
Then, I went to Hebrew University where I am studying for the year. I spent my first day in a total immersion class learning Hebrew. Once class was over and the swelling in my brain subsided I took the bus home and wondered if there might be better ways to spend retirement. When I arrived home and found my family in the park directly across the street from our vacation home, I realized that I could make this work for one year. Then I think I will rejoin the workforce.... maybe.