Last Thanksgiving marked my fifth year of retirement.

So, in a way, these words are a few months overdue.

But I feel it’s worthwhile to reveal a few retirement discoveries and to reflect.

When I finished more than four decades of full-time employment at Thanksgiving 2016, I wrote a column acknowledging that my retirement probably wouldn’t be typical.

“Happy trails to you, until we meet again,” I said. “I’m not exactly sure what my trail will look like. Other folks retire to spend time with a spouse, or kids, or grandchildren. My situation is different. I’ll venture forward in an unbridled way along a trail of absolute freedom. No obligations or expectations. It’ll be an opportunity to view surroundings through fresh eyes.”

Boy, that prediction was right on target. Fresh eyes, fresh start, new world.

The past five years included three normal years and two pandemic years. Luckily, I’ve avoided illness and have maintained my daily walking regimen of 4 to 5 miles.

So I’ve been very active, which has allowed me to grow personally and expand my view and abilities. I’ve moved forward.

For one, I acquired a more meaningful understanding of weather patterns and lighting, which helps me with photography, one of my interests. I’ve never considered myself to be a photographer. I’m a writer who takes photos to illustrate stories. But I enjoy creating images. Photography is a daily learning experience and I’ve grown, especially with landscapes.

For instance, I’ve come to generally understand atmospheric conditions that can lead to rainbows. I’ve also come to understand conditions that often generate colorful sunrises and brilliant sunsets. Technically, it involves low humidity along with clouds, the angle of the sun, reflection and refraction.

Simply put, the best sunsets happen in late fall and winter when the air is dry and cloud cover is just right.

Similarly, I’ve come to see that early morning often provides the best lighting conditions for dramatic daytime shots.

Of course, these things can’t be predicted with 100 percent certainty.

By the same token, there’s really no crystal ball needed to figure out when the time is right to take photos. It’s a matter of being in touch with nature, a retirement opportunity.

Retirement during the recent pandemic years afforded travel opportunities, too.

I took many day trips to former mining communities, sites of the country’s worst anthracite coal tragedies. The visits allowed me to learn more and pay respects. The experiences broadened my understanding of the struggle and sacrifice of miners and their families and the steep price paid when coal fueled the growth of our country.

This has been personally enriching because I grew up in a coal and railroad town. I played around the mines and silt banks, even if my family roots aren’t connected to coal mining.

And that’s been another discovery.

Retirement has given me a chance to search my past. Schuylkill County is home but I always thought of my family roots as being in Carbon County because that’s where my grandparents lived. However, I came to realize my ancestors came from Germany and settled not in Carbon, but Monroe. Some eventually moved across the nearby border to Carbon. I never knew.

I also discovered my 1750s ancestral homestead, aptly named Old Homestead Acres. It stands proudly in the village of Little Washington, near Kresgeville and Gilbert. It was home of my fourth great-grandfather Johannes “John” Wilhelm Serfass, Revolutionary War veteran.

This made me realize my lineage, that I’m a son of the American Revolution, descended from pioneers who founded and named a community called Pleasant Valley, Pennsylvania.

All of this gave me pause and a chance to reflect.

A few months ago I stood in Gilbert Cemetery and stared at rows of old granite tombstones that carry my surname. For me, an awakening so rich and meaningful.

To be happy, I believe, it’s essential to keep learning.

I spent more than 40 years in communications. I met fascinating folks and did countless interviews.

I wrote about life stories worth telling and learned amazing details about interesting people.

Now, in retirement, I’m finally learning about myself.

Contact Donald R. Serfass at dserfass@tnonline.com.