Senior Gap Year

Greetings to those of you who have made the switch from "Parents on the Move!" blog to my new blog, "Mind the Gap." In a few weeks, my old website should also be shut down as I start on this new phase of life, just being me....or, rather, getting a clearer picture of who I am in this stage of life. I am privileged to take this year to write and speak to groups, individuals and friends and family; as I enjoy the challenges of a Senior Gap Year.

A "Gap Year" is rather like a sabbatical. In my book, "Parents on the Move!" (Destiny Image Europe publishers) I wrote about young people graduating from college taking a year to figure out what they want to be, to do; in their next steps of life. My generation did not take such a year, but I am urging many to consider it as a first step as they retire. For me, it is a time to realistically took at how I have lived my life; and how I want to spend the next twenty years. This blog is my journal.

On reflection, after teaching and raising my family, I had ten blessed years developing Childtrack Education, UK (Childtrack International Education consultancy); assisting many families in the banking community as they relocated to London. It was my dream job, and my own small business. I was blessed to work with a wonderful team, as we served both families and schools. We welcomed children as they transitioned from one education culture to another. With a deep love of cross cultural communication and it's impact on family life, I value that time of my life.

When Childtrack was passed on to a wonderful educationalist, Bob Gormley; and I remarried and moved to  the countryside of Surrey, I began my next dream- writing. My first book, "Parents on the Move!" allowed me to wrap up my consultancy with what I call "Godly closure." In other words, I was able to write down my approach to serving families as they looked for and found new communities, schools and places of worship in a new country. I had not been able to say good-bye very well to those I had worked with in London. For deep, unbearably sad personal reasons, I could not process my life at that point. I could not share what had happened to me. "Parents on the Move!" was my way of passing on what I had learned to those that could use the information. It would take a second book, "Beyond Broken Families,"(also Destiny Image Europe) to reach a place of peace where I could finally move on to where I am now; simply a writer and a speaker.

At Families in Global Transition conference 2012, I spoke about a Senior Gap Year where I would deliberately take the time to see what kind of tapestry was forming in my life. I wanted to include the sad and challenging as strengthening elements; but above all, find the joy and move into the hope that I would indeed live out my purpose for coming to this planet. It is shocking how funny a life can be; when we see how silly we have been, how wise God has been, and what stands in the gap between what has been and what could be.

Senior Gap Year is about plugging the holes so far left vacant, knowing what they are; and building a scaffolding for whatever it is we are building in the years ahead. here we go!