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Well, it's not something I ever came up with on my own, believe me! I was very happy as a staff chaplain for 23 yrs. at a local medical center. I had done nursing for18 yrs. prior to that. I said I would "never retire" because I loved my ministry as a chaplain, however, life took some twists and turns.
With these twists and turns retirement then became part of my plan so Dec. 3, 2012 I retired from 43 yrs. in healthcare. I had nothing on my "dance card" at that point except to spend time with my husband who had some health concerns. My main reply to those who asked, "what are you going to do in retirement?" was to simply say that I planned to "waste a couple of months and then take a nap"!
A cohort, then proposed the idea of going to the Hesychia Spiritual Direction School in Tucson, AZ, for my certificate as a spiritual director. I balked at that. November was upon me and the next training began in Feb. 2013, which I thought was quite presumptuous to assume I could get in the program in this short of time. So I continued to put John off but he gently persisted. To get him off my back I finally sat down, Dec. 27, 2012 and spent all day completing the application!
The application was quite lengthy, quite personal and it took much more time than I had wished. I really had better things to do that day like get out of town and head to our cabin in Crivitz, WI where we were going to celebrate New Year's with friends. I sealed the envelope thinking nothing more about the process...I just knew I would not be accepted for this next term!! I simply applied not wanting to sabotage myself, just in case!
