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Pete Gavin: My Small Circle of Contentment

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Though the jetsetter life full of travel has its appeal, Pete Gavin tells us why he doesn’t fear missing out.

Recently, the father of a close friend passed away at 97. Despite the fact I knew Jeff’s dad pretty well, at his memorial I learned things I never knew about him. During World War II, he saw combat in the Philippines, something surprisingly I never knew. Jeff mentioned when his father returned home to Berkeley, he never spoke about the war, and once he came home, he rarely left.

It felt odd that I never knew this about Jeff’s dad because Jeff is one of my oldest friends; we both attended the same nursery school, we played tennis together in high school and college, Jeff was my best man at my first wedding. How was I only learning this about his father now?

But it also made complete sense to me because as I get older, I too have a decreased desire for travel, for leaving home. I imagine this makes me sort of boring, — perhaps uncultured or pedestrian — compared to many of my friends who it seems are always game to board a plane and jet off to some foreign land, hungry for adventure, new experiences.

Me, more and more these days, I appreciate the sameness of my life. I enjoy the grounding of simple routines. I like being home with my wife, I like my garden, my sanctuary.

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Frankly, it took me a long time, and a fair amount of travel and adventure, to wind up where I am — physically, mentally, spiritually — and the older I get, the more I want to savor my surroundings. I find comfort in routine, in simple ritual. I know there are beautiful new places and people out there, a multitude of things on which I miss out. But above all, I feel blessed to have found my small circle of contentment.

With a Perspective, I’m Pete Gavin.

Pete Gavin is a retired English teacher living happily in Sonoma County.

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