It just seemed right.
The decision came abruptly with no forethought and a year in
advance. It was a long year - at the office. I never faltered from the original decisive
plan of retiring the end of 2016. Except
I delayed it until the end of January 2017.
Why? Because of the excessive,
unusual, once-a-year projects that needed to be tended to through the new year
transition and month of January. And
since I loved my job, and was dedicated to making sure the January projects
were given proper training, I was willing to go one more month.
Then the question people ask: “If I loved my job (and a good-paying one
at that),
and was so dedicated, why am I
leaving it to enter into a hum-drum life of retirement?” First, get this
straight:
I have no intention of moving
into a hum-drum life.
I have
plans.
God has plans for me. I am
confident,
without a doubt that God
nudged me to this retirement thing –
the
decision came so quickly, and with no anxiety, no regret, no wondering, no
forethought.
And without even consulting
my husband,
(although I do remember
about two years earlier he insisted I could quit anytime I wanted to!)I just announced it to him! That's gutsy!
ALSO, why wait until
I do not have the energy to do what I want to do. Why spend any more time at someone else’s
office while deeply desiring to enjoy life in ways I want to. At 66 I still have some energy left to
actually get out and enjoy life. It’s
not about the money. I have planned well
and wisely through the years – yes, albeit conservatively. But that’s me, and I can comfortably enjoy
retirement.
I am now ready to NOT walk away from the morning sunbeams
streaming into my living room windows, but instead capture the winter and
spring sunbeams floating through my house – soak them up in the quiet with
Bible or other inspirational reading in hand, and a cup of coffee. Enjoy tea on the front porch instead of
whisking away from my castle to yet another day at a hum-drum office.
I am ready to accompany my husband and spend time with him
on little trips to town, or share coffee with him in the morning – along with a
fresh baked goodie from my oven – again basking in the sun streaming through my
kitchen window. And I want to spend time
with him helping him in the field during haying season. I already have done some baling, but I am confident
he can teach me to run the swather. Not
all the time – but occasionally, being there when he needs the help. I look forward to working side by side with
him, like we used to do before I went to work in town 30 years ago. I especially savor the opportunities to have
more lunch or dinner dates in the field during hay harvest. There is just something so special about
meeting your man in the field!
I already have four quilt projects waiting to be started,
and what a joy it will be to be able to work on them throughout the days,
instead of just quick stitches whenever I could grab an extra 30 minutes before
or after a long work day at a hum-drum office (which I loved, by the way, but
am so ready to part with. Did I say that
already?) Oh, only four projects? I know that doesn’t sound like much at all to
most avid quilters, but I’m not one to get too much ahead of myself. (except when it came to giving retirement
notice a year in advance!)
Oh my gosh – the grandchildren! Nine in Lincoln,
and three in Denver. No longer do I have to make a quick weekend
trip, hurrying home on Sunday so I can appear at work on Monday, away from my
sanctuary. It is not too late, with five
babies still two and under, I will have lots of time for them to come spend
weeks with me. I will be home to take
them to the park, share a tea party, build tents, bake cookies, read books,
teach the girls to sew. . . . We have
always enjoyed having one grandchild at a time with us for a week or two, from
the time they were each like two years old.
But for the most part they would have to spend their days with Tim,
while I scurried off to the office. Sometimes I would manage a day or two of
vacation while they were here, but then it was back to the office. I did actually find a little time to teach Mathilda to sew a few years ago when she was here for a couple weeks. No more.
My time is their time now when they come!
I have barely had time to browse this thing called
Pinterest. But I understand there are
all sorts of creative ideas to get the creative juices flowing. I have three or four refinishing projects
waiting for me in the garage when warm weather arrives, and can’t wait to get
them repurposed. There is at least one
room in my house screaming “paint me”!
And it is time consuming just visiting the paint departments for samples
and picking out just the right color!
Oh, then I will engage myself more in something I’ve dabbled
with in the past – I will be my own travel planner. There is a big USA out there to explore, places to
go – things to see. Mostly road
trips. And sporting event trips to Lincoln. On my list: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Grand Canyon, Ohio
Amish country, Niagara Falls and Canada (to see a friend we met on our cruise
in 2011), the Northwest Oregon & Washington, and possibly Hawaii; and
outside the USA: Costa Rica, and Norway.
Starting with a jaunt to California
to visit Alexis and Val and do a road short road trip with Alexis, and walk the beach with her. I have always loved the ocean, and have fond memories of other beach visits. Then a
“Magnificent Seven” reunion in Frisco, Colorado the first week in August 2017,
when seven best college girlfriends from 1970 meet together for a magnificent
seven crazy grandmother’s reunion. Will that be a blast from the past? Also maybe more opportunity to make a trip to Montana to visit my mom.
In my retirement down time, I hope to do more reading. I haven’t been much of a reader the last 20
years, but I have a bookshelf full of books I would love to open and immerse
myself in. I’m not into the kindle book
thing yet, because I think I like the old-fashioned “hold-a-real-book-in-the-hand”
concept!
Oops, not to forget, and it’s definitely not last on my
list, but I will attend a weekly day-time Bible study with other sisters-in-Christ. Something I used to do 30-40 years ago, but
haven’t been able to participate in while a “career woman”! And I even hope to offer some volunteer
efforts -- in time. Don’t want to jump
from one have-to commitment (the office) to another commitment too rapidly. One friend already advised to not be afraid to
say “no” as requests may swarm me to do this or that as soon as I am no longer
“working.”
Perhaps I can do a better job gardening. I definitely don’t want to do any more
canning or freezing than what I have done in the past few years, but maybe I
can take better care of the garden and flowers that I do plant. I do not have a green thumb and gardening and
flower beds are very difficult for me and I have not enjoyed this activity
trying to do it a few minutes in the mornings before work or a few minutes
after a long day at the office. So maybe
now I can put on those gardening gloves and at least be a bit more successful.
I am looking forward to meeting up with friends during the
day for coffee or lunch, or just hanging out. I have always enjoyed sharing meals around my dining room table, and now I hope to have more time to do that. Also, I have wonderful in-laws that live a mile down the road. They are 89 and 93 and still live in their own house. They are showing early and progressive signs of dementia, and I hope to be able to a little more for them while they are still alive.
Oh dear, I think I may be really, really busy in this new retired life.
