Depending on who you ask, the answer will vary by many degrees.
Adding a professional certification to a resume.
Honing teaching skills.
Travel.
Etc. Etc. Etc.
For me, however, the answer was a bit different….
Don was just one of those guys. Retired. Bored. Talked too much. I’m sure his wife persuaded him ever so gently to “get the hell out of the house and find something to do.” Bless his heart. Lots of time and nothing to fill it with can drive a man crazy…or, as in most cases, everyone around him.
Don was hired as the Miscellaneous Fix-It man at the Chick-fil-A restaurant I was helping to manage. He was forever spouting off witty phrases that were short on the wit and heavy on the “Don, just go home.”
“Hey, don’t take any wooden nickels.”
Don, just go home.
“I’m blowin’ this popsicle stand.”
Don, just go home.
And my personal favorite, “You’re alright! I don’t care what they say about you.”
Don, I’m giving you 5 seconds before I take this 12×12 stainless steel pan and shove it up your….
You get the point.
I can’t imagine how his wife did it. She no doubt belonged to many organizations and supper clubs that kept her out of the house at strategic times.
And now I’ve come to the point in my life where I feel that I should go back and thank all of the people who shaped who I am. Molded me into a better person. In short, inspired me to be somebody. Namely, the exact opposite of them.
Cynical? Perhaps.
Determined to be happy? Absolutely.