Like so many of us, David Baker’s encore journey did not start with a calendar appointment to begin thinking about his encore. He and his wife had always planned to retire to the beach, travel and enjoy the fruits of their lifelong labors. Unfortunately for many of us, life happens along the way, with wakeup calls that require a total abandonment of those well thought out retirement dreams. Sickness strikes and all those plans instantly evaporate. Your singular purpose becomes prolonging a life and when that life ends, you are lost, devoid of hope, wondering, “What now?.”

When David recommends to “Stop thinking about yourself and start thinking outside of yourself,” it is a direct outgrowth of his winding road story about how he got to where he is today.

David’s career journey reflects a number of deliberate decisions along the way. He began as a teacher, moved to corporate work with the American Dairy and Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and closed with the companies that morphed into Hewlett Packard. He was a sales and assistant district manager who particularly enjoyed being an individual contributor. Early in their careers, David’s wife, who was also in computer sales and still in her early 30’s, became ill with Progressive Degenerative Multiple Sclerosis. At first, it was manageable, but as the years progressed it took its toll on her life, their marriage and their family. For years David was able to juggle a demanding job, take care his wife and his home with the help of others. Finally, when the cost and quality of care was no longer tolerable, he retired to care for his wife full time. With his financial security from his working years, he was able to give his wife the gift of his time. During the many months and years that they “sheltered in place,“ he removed himself from activity outside of his home and most every moment was devoted to care.

When is wife passed away, he was left in a dark place without direction. It took months for David to stop mourning and shake off the debilitating inertia that had taken over his life. It would be easy to just give up and stay frozen in time, but he became angry with himself. He was never a quitter and it was time to stop feeling sorry for himself and re-engage with life and people again.

He began his uncertain encore by volunteering and getting involved in Howard County volunteer opportunities and groups like Widows and Widowers of Howard County. Like a rolling stone, he gained speed with the shear variety of things he participated in. He took his dog and became a pet visitor for those in need. He drove people to appointments and ran games, and trips for seniors. He became President of his HOA and served on the finance committee at his church. Additionally, David staged social events like wine tastings, bridge lessons and Christmas caroling, opening his home and himself to others. Is that enough? Not yet. He is contemplating what else to add to his plate full of purpose as there is still a lot of empty time in his life.

In his words of wisdom to those of us trying to figure out our encore, he advises to get out outside of yourself, involve yourself with others and with a diversity of experiences, and to never lose track of the need to care for both our minds and our bodies.