Entering my 65th year on January 1st 2020, my personal struggle was primarily coming to terms with being “officially” old and realizing any ridiculous desire for moving up the corporate food chain were long gone. What once was my chosen profession had become nothing more than a safe place to fall back on. It was a sober reality accepting there are scores of talented young people with more time to give than I had to offer. Traveling had been a significant part of my life back then and I generally enjoyed it—other than missing my kids, but now I had no interest in spending a night out of town unless my wife was with me. My time in the sun had come and gone. The issue for me wasn’t whether or not I could continue working, it was whether or not I wanted to continue doing the same job. The fuel for this is simple—we have spent the bulk of our savings and need to continue to produce so the need is not purely egotistical, although I do have an oversized opinion of my ability sometimes… We were smart enough to save and invest well, just not bright enough to not spend it. What started out in the beginning of 2020 as a search for validation of sorts for my perceived talents quickly evolved. By February, I had begrudgingly accepted continuing down the current path for another 2-3 years unless some other opportunity presented itself. By mid-March, COVID had grabbed everyones attention and changed everything. It leveled the playing field initially, kicking everyones butt (except on-line sales which exploded.) Gradually, national non-hospitality companies have rebounded but the locals continue to struggle. My epiphany of the future was losing my largest account at the same time the pandemic was gutting the economy. When you depend on volume to make up for profitability, losing half of your business is painful, but when your remaining business is off 30%, it was time for a reality check. Doing the math I was shocked to discover the amount I could receive from social security was pretty much the same as I was making now thanks to the pandemic. Boomers are deciding to retire, or so it says in an article written by LinkedIn Editor Monika Flake. I have been reading about this trend with great interest throughout the pandemic and can now understand why. Pandemics have an interesting way of opening your eyes to other opportunities. Peering into my somewhat foggy crystal ball for inspiration and cringing while viewing my income nose-dive led to my decision to make a “career pivot” as is popular to say currently. Although it is likely directed more towards those 20 years my junior, I’m claiming it too.

I have gained an appreciation over the last several years for the more liberal or open-minded spirit in Salt Lake City proper. It is a welcome beacon to broader thinking and greater diversity. An island within Utah as it were, it is most eclectic and helps (a little anyway) navigate the dominance of a church and state that feels it is their moral obligation to oversee our lives. The latest manifesto by Governor Herbert has already struggling bars and restaurants quit serving alcohol at 10 PM. It must be because he and his gaggle of priesthood holders have decided that is when COVID strikes! Not in large social or religious gatherings like the hated scientists state, oh no, it is where people gather under the greatest restrictions—bars and restaurants. For some reason, the LDS powers that be have decided this is a perfect opportunity to free the heathens from the demonic hold of appetizers and alcohol. Churches and businesses (read Walmart) face no new restrictions for gatherings, so it appears COVID has a moral objection to gatherings that don’t include prayer and shopping.

Thanksgiving made us sad. Yeah, we were grateful and kept reminding ourselves of all the reasons, and there were plenty for sure. We have a very comfortable place to live, have our health and certainly had more than enough to eat, blah, blah, blah—but—we didn’t have our family. Millions faced this dilemma. Some, chose like us to stay apart, only the household got together, while others took a safe chance and gathered with masks and the more militant ones said the hell with it and celebrated as usual. Regardless of how we feel about the nature of COVID, real, imagined or conspiracy, everyone agreed it is not worth the chance of making our matriarch ill, so we went our separate ways for the holiday. My wife Lisa and I have decided we will find a way to celebrate Christmas together. This is not throwing caution to the wind or even a willingness to take a chance, but rather looking at and digesting the facts to the best of our ability and then making a decision. We will be looking at the “numbers” for the next several weeks before committing to a plan. We are not a group that is clingy or that we do everything together but we cherish those times we do gather. We need each other especially now.