The sum of all our parts

In my research about Baby Boomer issues, I frequently comes across the phrases “second acts” and “encore careers.”

They refer to the idea that Baby Boomers will not retire in the fashion of their parents and grandparents.

When they “retire” from a job they might have had for a number of years, the expectation is that a lot of Baby Boomers will shift gears into a new career or profession that better reflects their passion:

The corporate lawyer, for example, who decides to open a bakery (and maybe the baker who decides to become a lawyer?)

I’m one of those Baby Boomers. I “retired” fairly early from a 30-plus career in newspapers.

And in the intervening three plus years I’ve been trying to determine exactly what my second act or encore career is going to be.

I’ve come to the realization that it’s no one act, no one career.

I’m currently the sum of several different acts and careers that I’ve managed to assemble to occupy my time, engage my brain, occasionally challenge my sensibilities and pay the bills.

It might be a little adult-onset ADD at play here, but I don’t think I can do just one thing these days.

I defined my newspaper career singularly through the blocks of years as a reporter, editor, director of operations.

But I define my post-newspaper career as a mish-mash of different jobs, different roles happening all at the same time.

I am, at once, a writer, editor, data miner, blogger, web site updater, newspaper industry consultant, surfer, golfer and lay-about.

All suit me, all at once, sometimes on the same day.

I had an experience recently where I was hired to do a consulting job for a newspaper consolidation project in Ohio, and I was terminated from the job within 10 days.

There were differing expectations of the role I would bring to the project and the role the client wanted brought to the project.

No harm, no foul.

But I realized, in losing that job, which was going to be a full-time job, that it didn’t bother me too much that I’d been fired.

That’s because one job doesn’t define me anymore.

There are other jobs today, probably more jobs tomorrow that make me want to get up in the morning, have my cup of coffee and charge into the office (which is right down the hall from our kitchen).

At my high school reunion not too long ago, I talked to a lot of classmates on the cusp of retirement. They’re thinking about what’s next, who’ll they’ll be in the next go-round.

Be a lot of things, do a lot of things, I suggest.

I have different roles to different people these days. But my whole is definitely greater than the sum of my parts and it’s the best thing so far about this so-called “retirement.”