STEVE: In his book “When,” Dan Pink says we can think of our lives as divided into three acts: starting out, then settling into our careers and families, and finally shifting gears in our final act as we search for a more meaningful life. Of course, this made me reflect on my own life. In certain respects, I’m the anomaly; I’ve worked at the same public radio station for more than 30 years. But as I enter my own Third Act, I find myself thinking a lot about these questions — not only what’s next but also how to reinterpret my past. Now I see subtle shifts in my life over the past two or three decades. What had seemed like a continuous stream of activity now looks like a series of punctuated jumps. I just couldn’t see it at the time.
ANNE: My eldest will graduate from college next week. Just typing the words makes my heart stumble. I can’t talk about it except in clichés: Where did the time go? Her freshman year seems like yesterday, kindergarten a recent memory. There’s a photo of her and her brother on my dresser. They’re building a sand castle on a Florida beach, at ages 4 and 2. Some days I look at it and ache for what’s gone forever — other days, the memory is a warm glow. The years when our two kids were small were among the happiest of my life. Funny how you don’t realize it’s a stage until it’s gone.
HALEEMA: I was 18 years old when my nephew was born. It was an exciting time that ushered the first family grandchild, and it felt like a new chapter for my siblings and me as my sister became a parent, my brother became an uncle, I became an aunt, and all of us became caretakers. My relationship with my sister began to change — memories of fighting over clothes, space, and just about everything else seemed distant as I watched her become a mom. Instead, we talked about sleep, careers, aging family members, and how nice it was to stay in touch.
SHANNON: I’m nostalgic about the bus stop. For many years, I’d walk one or both of my daughters a block away to the school bus, every morning before 7 a.m. There were usually about 15 or so kids, and various parents and siblings. We wouldn’t exchange much more than a few sentences, but I loved the ritual of it, the changing seasons, watching the neighborhood kids grow up day by day. Now I catch glimpses of them, older, some driving cars, or walking to the high school, scattered out making their way in the world.
MARK: Like many people, changing cities has been my main (literal) scene change in life, one that gave me the confidence to take real steps forward in life. Moving to Chicago required really depending on my partner to manage the stresses of living and working in a new place — the sort of cooperation that made it easier to picture what married life would be like. And moving back home to Madison made the idea of putting down roots less scary, since we appreciated how much help and support we'd need if we wanted to own our own home. Even though we're both from Madison, it seems different now having lived away for several years — a sign that changing locales is a vital part of personal growth.
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