I do some volunteering in the community, mostly at the local police department. With semi-retirement and quitting smoking, I am left with a ton of time on my hands. I do work part time (in the evenings, at home, on the computer, about 15 hours a week max) and my days are free. I've been looking at places around here to volunteer some of my time and somehow, ended up making an appointment with a community-run hospice center. They need folks for their desk, to do paperwork/admin duties, fill bird feeders, and a million other things that don't involve patient care.
I feel like it's a good fit, but when I told my daughter I was interviewing there today, she said, "Mom, that sounds so sad." They don't call it dying at this hospice; they call it transitioning. Anyway, I left the interview feeling that I'd do stuff for them if they called. I don't think it's sad. I think it's noble that we treat our dying with respect and give them options and choices at the end of their lives. When the interviewer asked me why I chose hospice, I mentioned that I liked to pay back to the community and have done so for most of my life, and perhaps as a result, someone would give back to the community when it was my time to be in need.
None of this has to do with quitting smoking other than quitting has given me time to use as I please, and I think this is how I please to use it.
Donna
Day 57
