This is NOT a depressing thread, for Gawd's sake!!!!!
People fulfil their dreams, then move on to other dreams. What on earth is depressing about that? They find something totally wonderful, then being human, want something more. Greedy, yes! Depressing? Why?
In my case, I took up flying to get over a seriously bad time in my life. My sole ambition was to get my PPL and be able to fly to France for lunch.
Almost exactly ten years later, I have a PPL(A), PPL(H), CPL(H) and FI(H) rating. I earn my living as a helicopter instructor and aviation writer, writing regularly for two mags, and I've recently had a book proposal accepted. I've soloed a flexwing microlight, had a go in a glider and an autogyro, tried aerobatics, and traded a helicopter flight for a balloon flight. I've had that lunch in France, and also several flying holidays there plus one to Germany and Austria. I've flown all over the UK and Ireland. I've entered the Dawn to Dusk competition three times and won it once. I've flown in the USA and in Russia. And there's probably a few things I've forgotten.
It's all been wonderful, awesome, fantastic, and life-changing. Indeed, flying has completely changed my life. I will never, ever in a million years regret the day I walked into Welshpool Flying Club and said nervously, "I'm thinking of learning to fly".
But just because I've done so much in a relatively short time...what now? I love instructing, and I'll probably do it for as long as I can...or maybe just till I get tired of it and realise that the aviation writing pays a lot better. But as for flying for fun? I'd like to fly in New Zealand, but it's expensive, and I'm not sure I want to enough to spend all that money. I can't be bothered to spend my few days off boring holes in the sky or going to yet another fly-in. Maybe I would if I didn't fly for a living. Hard to say; I get my fix of flying for a day or two a week anyway.
But....
Recently I took up horse riding again, after a gap of years and years. I absolutely loved it, just as I had in my youth. Why did I ever give it up? I'm rusty, but I'd like to do more. There's a rather nice riding holiday in Andalucia I've seen advertised. It's a bit pricy, but if I don't fly in New Zealand...
That could have been sailing, or golf, or tiddlywinks? You see, flying is so all-consuming, that you can find you don't have time and money for anything else. So is it surprising if eventually, after 3, 5, 10, 20, 30 years, someone decides they fancy a change?
And don't anyone DARE tell me this post is depressing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(Now, what I really, really, really wanna do is go into space.......)