The Lighthouse Still Guides Us

Lighthouse on the Hudson River

Sometimes the things that guide us for decades go dark — and that’s when the real work begins.

Last week we visited the Tarrytown Lighthouse, the cast‑iron beacon that sits in the Hudson River at Sleepy Hollow — yes, the same Sleepy Hollow from Washington Irving’s Headless Horseman. Built in 1883, it guided ships for 78 years until modern navigation made it obsolete in 1961.

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The Empty Briefcase

A quiet milestone in my retirement journey happened today — and it surprised me more than I expected.

It’s been three weeks since my last day of work, and today I finally emptied out what remained in my laptop bag — my modern‑day briefcase. Somewhere among leftover folders, random cables, and a couple of loose coins were the final day‑to‑day artifacts of the professional rat race I stepped away from when I retired.

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The Legacy That Matters Most Isn’t Financial

This week, I’ve been thinking about what it means to leave a lasting legacy — more specifically, what remains after the season we call retirement comes to an end.

We often think of legacy in terms of financial assets passed down to the next generation. But what if it’s more than that? What if our lives were lived in such a way that our lasting impact isn’t just money left to children, but enduring attributes like family strength, cultural influence, and a spiritual foundation?

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It Happened

Last Wednesday, I went into work as an SVP and left around 5:30 as a retiree. After a 40‑year career with Bank of America, I officially stepped into the next chapter.

I was the very last person to leave that day. I sent one final email to my manager thanking him for his support, then signed off for the last time. After that, I took a slow walk through the office, just reminiscing.

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