Yesterday I retired.  In 1972 I graduated from UMKC Law School and passed the Bar. 41 years later, I am retiring from the Bench.  It has been great.  Not always easy, but rich with memories and friendships.

Today, I continued my life with no orders to write, no trials and no probationers.  I had no need to get ready to work or to do–well–anything.  It felt strange, but in the way that you like to feel at the beginning of any adventure.

I can tell you my priorities for the next two weeks: visits with friends and family, work in the yard, non-profit commitments.  But for the first time in four decades, I cannot tell you my long-term plan for the future.  It is thrilling, really.  Do I want to write, or take photographs?  Do I want to travel, or save the world? How do I decide, after all these years, what will most give my life meaning?  It is a gift I give myself to figure it out.

I can compile my own bucket list!  I have all the time left to me to figure it out.