Purpose

 

We set out this year to spend time together as a family -- 24 hours a day for 365 days, give or take a few. That is a lot of time. And while time together is good, time without purpose can be like a big pot of oatmeal. It's just a bunch of sticky goo with an occasional lump, and not very satisfying. But add a little milk, or maybe even cream, and some brown sugar, now you've got a satisfying meal.


Purpose, we have discovered, can be the difference between a really good day and a not so good day. Examples: "Let's go to the Eiteljorg Museum today and learn how the Native Americans here wove their blankets and made their pots", or "Let's go visit aunt Kate and baby Elsie today to see how we can help."

Counter examples: "What are we doing today?" "I don't know." "Mom, Griffin squished me!" "Isabel stole my Lego!"

That's why I'm so proud of our parents. (You'll see how this fits together in a minute.) Our parents, Anna's and mine, are mostly retired now. Being mostly retired can be tough. You spend so many years working only to wake up one day with lots of time on your hands, and not so much purpose anymore. We worried our parents might get tired of all that oatmeal. We shouldn't have because they've found very purposeful ways to use their abundant time, energy and talent.

Jim, Anna's dad, is starting Hearts and Hands in Indianapolis. Like Habitat for Humanity on a very local scale, they are revitalizing neighborhoods one house at a time by purchasing and renovating homes then providing them affordably to deserving homeowners. Have a look at this short video on their first project.

Anna's mom, Linda, the perpetual gardener, is her block's coordinator for Adopt-A-Block. She leads her neighbors to keep their block clean and beautiful. She's also using her strong back working on the Hearts and Hands homes.

Meanwhile, my mom and dad, Brenda and Bob, have found a way to combine their traveling jones with their experience as educators. They're working with Hope4Kids International. They combine service projects with trips to exotic locations. Most recently they were working in Peru.

My other dad, Mel, and his wife, Sally, have chucked convention and live most of the time on the road in their motorhome. They also keep in touch with kids they are sponsoring in other countries.

One of our best purposes this year, it turns out, has been getting to know our retired parents better. We have traveled with them in some of our favorite places like Scotland, England, Italy and South Africa. And we've enjoyed time in their home habitats as well, watching proudly as they carry on very purpose-filled and happy lives.