An Old Dog; a New Trick

So here goes. My first blog.  It strikes me that so many of us middle age dogs start to look for new tricks as we hit this middle age season.  Is it age or is it the "season of life"?  We're in our late forties but still have kids in school.  Some of our friends at this same age are already empty nesters.  A few are becoming grandparents.  No matter how we got here, whether by college career, military, stay-at-home parenting, it seems that by this point, everyone starts to pose the question "what do I want to do when I grow up?" or "what do I really want to do with my life?".  Can an old dog learn a new trick? Jon Acuff, in his book "Quitter" theorizes that our "dream" job isn't something new but really something that you used to be passionate about and have let go.  What about those folks who followed their dream right out of the gate?  Do you suppose they are now having similar thoughts but in the opposite way?  "What if I had followed the path my parent/teacher/counselor (fill in the blank) wanted me to go?".  At any season, making the decision to follow a passion or redirect your career path is a leap of faith.  It's a risk.  Is the risk greater if you take this leap in middle age?  Is the reward sweeter?  Who knows.  To all those brave enough to take the leap, I say Godspeed and good luck!