When Social Security Writes

The letter had to be a mistake, I figured.  Why would those nice people at the Social Security Administration send me this letter telling me that I needed to contact them right away in order to get my Social Security payments started?  I called the SSA and spoke with a very nice woman who, when looking at my records, said, “Happy Birthday almost”.  I said “thank you”, and then I told her I was confused about why they were writing to me.  Her best guess was that, because I was about to turn 63, they were letting me know that if I was ready to start my payments I needed to get an application filed.  I assured her that I had no desire to “retire” just yet. She told me, “Well, in three years you will be eligible for full benefits.”

Three years.  That got my attention.  I have three years left until I have reached the age when the government says I should stop working.  Thirty-six months until society will tell me it’s time to quit the commute and all that happens at the other end of it.  Now, I fully understand that, for many, maybe most people, they want to retire from their work routine and take advantage while they can of the rest of what life has to offer. I am all for that for those who need or want to take advantage of that change in life’s direction.  But, for me, I already am doing what I want to do when I retire. In fact, I am so comfortable in my “work” that most of my friends are constantly asking me how I am enjoying retirement. “I am not retired!”, I tell them in an exasperated tone.  

Three years, my friend at Social Security told me. Get ready, buddy.  So now I am focusing. Focusing on what I want to accomplish in the next three years, or if circumstances permit, a few more beyond. Three (or so) years to “finish well.”  What can I do to touch lives in some meaningful way before I can do so no more?

Today I am going to officiate the spreading of the ashes of a friend of mine of the same age who was taken by disease.  She was focused during her dying years, focused on her family and friends and on dying well.  Her last three years of life were a testament to the power of “focus” that comes from the desire to finish well.  To be focused on finishing well, whether it is a career or life itself, carries with it the promise that makes it all worthwhile, that we shall behold Him face to face, and hear the “well done” that is reserved for the faithful servants.

Thanks for the letter.