This past week my husband and I drove to Florida. It was a fun trip and one just for us. We didn’t need to visit anybody, do any work, or really make any plans at all. We spent a great deal of time on the beach, watching a pair of dolphins swimming close to shore to round up dinner in the shallow water every evening. I consider it a preview of retirement.

 

I would usually want to fly to Florida, since I’m not a big fan of long road trips, but having taken a short vacation from work, we had plenty of time to stop and enjoy the scenery and attractions along the way. We were just starting through the mountains of Tennessee when I noticed a sign that gave me pause. “Caution: Falling Rocks” is how it read, and a few feet behind it sat a small boulder, which apparently used to sit a few hundred yards above it until gravity, time, and the slowly shifting earth sent it to its new resting place to terrify travelers from flatter locales.

I couldn’t help wondering what that sign hoped to accomplish. My guess is that once you notice a “falling rock” heading your way, your options are pretty limited. So what’s the point? Perhaps the sign was more to warn drivers to keep an eye on the road ahead in case a falling rock had already landed and created an unexpected obstacle on the freeway. Still, it gave the beautiful scenery a slightly menacing edge, as if giants were hidden above us among the trees, playing an unpredictable game of interstate bowling.

Our world is full of “falling rocks” signs and sayings. Predictions about the economy, the state of international relations, and even warnings about our health can fill our days with uncertainty and uneasiness. If we allow ourselves to do so, we could be paralyzed, immobilized in the face of so much uncertainty and fear. Watching the stock market over the past few months might lead some of us to keep our money in safe investments, although they aren’t the kind of the investments likely to keep up with inflation and sustain us through our retirement years. And while it might feel like these dire warnings and predictions have increased in recent years, our parents and grandparents faced the same uncertain future as we do today, and they did what we have to do as well—keep moving forward, doing our best to navigate ourselves, our families, and our country to the best possible future. We can no more stop and stand still in the face of uncertainty than my husband and I could stop driving forward on I-65.

Thankfully, we came no closer to a falling rock than the boulder that stood as a silent warning behind that ominous sign. On the return trip, we were farther away from the mountain above us, but closer to the drop off, so that came with its own burst of adrenaline. So even after a few days of fun and relaxation in the sun, I am reminded that work, road trips, and retirement can and should be planned and prepared for. Although there is a chance of a “falling rock” of some kind pushing you off course, there’s a far greater risk of failure when you attempt the trip without a route in mind…and those falling rocks aren’t nearly as numerous as the signs telling you about them. For the time being, I’m back in Indiana, still missing the Florida sun, but also very grateful for the long stretches of open farmland and mostly flat roadways that I call home. I’m Retiring Tina, and I still have some work to do.