Please. I plead with you. Live deeply. You may be young now but it goes. Fast. It is a breath.

[Ms. Toad]

5. And it's never too late.

I've never hidden who I am - despite personal risks. But I spent the first 45 years of my working life serving others in one form or another. I've been paid - sometimes well, sometimes a pittance. My formal hours never mattered. The needs of who I was serving did - so I nearly always worked 50% more hours than I was paid for; often 100% more.

I put off a lot of living because it simply never fit with the needs of the people I was serving. I had no regrets at the time - and I don't think I would have had I died during that period.

I'm retired now. My tag line on my email signature is "retired and living the dream." I truly am. I have enjoyed retirement from the first day - even though I resented being forced into retirement. But a little over a year into it that resentment is mostly dim background noise, and I am enjoying my life more and more each day. I'm taking classes (free as a university retiree) - probably getting a 2nd bachelor's degree in photography, scuba diving, acting, visiting my elderly parents more, and generally just enjoying doing what I want to do, when I want to do it.

I can't imagine not making my life a service to others, but I'm taking a break from that being the focal point of how I spend my time.