Summer 2009 of Beads and Kids

I keep running into people who want to know what it is like to be retired. I thought when I left teaching i would spend all day reading and writing, but that has yet to happen. i now have at least three jobs in a market where there are only a few jobs. Some how, I have landed some great opportunities and I am busy.
Upon returning from the Peace Corps, besides taking care of Mom whenever i can, I have found one project that I believe in: selling BeadforLife for Ugandan women. I make no money but bead by bead they are eradicating poverty. The beads are beautiful. I hooked up with a farmer and go with my beads to the Mt. Tom Farmers market on Saturday mornings. I help sell her produce and delicious breads and people also buy the beads. People spend money for a cause, that is very clear to me. My goal is to sell all the beads by August 30.
I have spent a lot of time reading Peace Corps Blogs and am puzzled and thrilled at what I read. I have decided that Peace corps is not at all about the project; it is about relationships, about being present for the other, about saying I care about you. Some of my cohort group still have not moved in or gone to work but they have established relationships with people. Some are ill, but they have taken on Ugandan names and feel like this is there home. I expect to go back to Uganda and work in an orphanage and with Hospice.
This time in my life is one of discovery and yearning: discovering that life is not about a job, but about meaningful work; discovering that we are constantly redefining who we are and who we want to be. Amazing discoveries.