15 years in a box

My mother recently gave me a box with pictures and items from me growing up from 0-15 years old. When I was a small child, I dreamed of being a teacher, like my mother, or a flight attendant, even though I had never been on a plane at that time. I thought it was interesting that even at the young age of 4 or 5, I was deciding what career I would go into. I don’t think anyone ever thought of being a recruiter at that age, but the job did exist back then. My chosen industry has been around since the 1920’s! But we seem to fall into our careers, rather than plan for them as a kindergarten student. Looking through this box of personal treasures, I started to think about life cycles, and although we often hear about the seven year itch or decades at a time, we rarely hear about 15 year cycles.

0-15 we figure out if we are social or introverted, we do what we are told but try to be as independent as possible. We go to the schools that we have to, most likely close to home, and we get to know our neighborhood. We dream of being teachers or flight attendants, firemen or police officers, astronauts or the prime minister! The next cycle of 15-30 is perhaps about reality setting in, with some stupid but maybe fun mistakes. We pick our careers or jobs, educate (or attempt to) ourselves in the career paths we chose, usually with some guidance from parents or mentors. Most people learn about love and dating during this cycle. Driver’s licenses, and for some, marriage licenses come in this cycle, along with a true sense of freedom and perhaps even some travel. Now the 30-45 cycle, this cycle goes by faster than lightening! Work, careers, homes, relationships, children, debt, credit, goals, discussions around futures, planning, and maybe more travel, but with very little discretionary cash! Then it’s 45-60! I’ve just started this cycle. So far, a little slower than the rest, pictures become more important, families start to grow up, career becomes second nature, wisdom is obvious, and life is becoming too short. More freedom to do what is most important, money should be easier to work with, more planning, everything becomes about the future, about the people close by, what and who deserves our time and space, and making wiser decisions around lifestyles and matters of importance.

What’s ahead for 60-75? I don’t know. My 15 years at a time in a box currently only goes up to 45.5 for me, and 51 for my husband. But as I look at my first 15 years in a box, and think about my career plans then, I am beginning to dream and hope for my last 15-30 years, and what I might want to do then? Open an ice cream shop, perhaps? I will probably have grandchildren by then, who will want to hear stories about my years in several boxes, and my children will be asking for career and family advice. I will have tons of time to do that, while I scoop double chocolate mint ice cream into sugar cones!