Yes, And…

Despite, or perhaps because Sam and I have been married for 40 years, we disagree about a lot of things. But we’ve been in surprising agreement about launching this blog and chronicling our decision to take a gap year at ages 61 (Debbie) and almost 62 (Sam). I know that sounds old to some of you reading this. Trust me. It’s really not.

We’re doing a gap year 40 years after you’re supposed to do it. Gap years typically come right before university, or right after college but before you enter the real world. It’s something we talked about when we met and fell in love (I was a freshman, he was a sophomore). But somehow it never happened, primarily because of Sam’s career as a physician. For Sam that meant, consecutively, college, medical school, residency, fellowship and then 31 years in private practice as a gastroenterologist in Washington DC.

By contrast, my life has had more pauses, hiccups, twists and turns, what with three children and at least three careers (journalist, social media consultant and now eBook publisher and book coach). Oh there’s a lot I need to explain to you. Sam and I are a team but we’re also fiercely individual. For today, let’s focus on Yes, And…

Yes, And… is the signature phrase of improv acting. It keeps things moving and lively by building on what the person said before you. No, But… is not allowed because it refutes what came before. It disrupts the flow of the riff. It brings things to a halt.

Yes, And…  is something Sam and I don’t do enough of when we’re talking to each other. We decided it’s the necessary foundation to a year of adventure; travel (first stop, Paris); learning new things (Spanish? Skydiving? Fly fishing? Painting? Piano?); saving the world (Sam: health care reform); uncertainty (do we have enough money??); and figuring out what comes next. Stay tuned.