By LIZ MARCHI
Labor Day is one of my favorite weekends of the year. Growing up in a college town, it was like New Years Eve for me. Back to school: I couldn’t imagine a life that didn’t cycle around semesters, students and college football.
That rhythm has altered over the years. I moved west and don’t live in town. Learning has taken a different form, not just digest and test but by doing, living and reflecting, refining and retrying. Life in many ways is quieter with no children around and no office in town. I treasure the space we have at the ranch and the changing seasons here. The changes are evident in different ways. Days are shorter, fields are turning yellow and mornings are cooler. Our summers in Montana are lived with such intensity: hiking, boating, company and at the ranch haying, fence repair and irrigation. It’s my rhythm to start planning for the New Year in September.
It is a marvel that I can sit here at the ranch on Sunday morning and read the New York Times, Face Time with my daughter in Grenada, message my 83 year old mother in Alabama and catch up on the latest census results from Myanmar. There are so many options and choices on how to spend time. Regardless of our age, the challenge is to keep growing, doing, trying, and seeking all with a sense of curiosity.
This year I will continue to focus on Frontier Fund 2. Risk takers and entrepreneurs are highly inspiring and motivating for me. At the same time, our family continues to grow. We have two grandchildren and a new son in law. I want more time in my life to be with them–to laugh and love and form family traditions. Managing my calendar and time is a top priority and it should be for each of us. Time, it’s our most important procession. Can’t be banked, can’t be bought.
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Liz Marchi lives on a ranch in Polson, Montana with her husband Jon. She is the Fund Coordinator for the Frontier Angel Fund and spends a lot of time thinking and learning about entrepreneurs, the economy and Montana’s unique place in the world. She has three daughters and a stepson and daughter and a grandchild. She graduated from Hollins College and is entering the final quarter of life…unless we go into overtime.