November Thoughts

It is a classic November day here in eastern Ontario, bleak and grey, windy and somber. I am on vacation this week, and on long walks with my dog through the village of Westboro, I turn the collar of my coat up against the wind and am careful to wear heavy gloves and a warm scarf. It will not be long until snow falls, and the monotone palette of the streets is replaced by a different palette, one in which the principal colours are pristine shades of white, cream and the palest ice blue.

I have much to think about on my walks this week. After several years of frenetic and enjoyable activity, my employment in a large law firm in Ottawa is coming to an end. The firm is undergoing corporate reorganization, and my graphic design/publishing position will be eliminated at the end of December. This has been a shock and a rude awakening. I had assumed (silly me) that I would remain with the organization until I chose to retire a few years hence. One would think that by this late time in life I would have renounced the practice of making foolish and mundane assumptions, but (alas) it was not so.

While the firm has been generous in its severance package, the future is suddenly filled with uncertainty. At the age of fifty-six, I must make plans for a new future, one which does not include the many good friends and interesting assignments which have comprised my working life for so many years. What is to come, and what shape will my future wear?