Update!

Pieces of the Puzzle Retirement Blog Posy

Since my last post, not only I have retired but my spouse retired last week. He says he’s not really feeling any “different” this week than last. He was an elementary school teacher and always had the summers off. I’m feeling the impact. Usually summers were always my busy time with work so when he was off, I was traveling more and had larger projects to work on. He would run some errands for me and keep up on some of the household chores but we were very busy separately.

It’s one thing to create a blog but another thing to keep up with it when life is happening around you!

On his first day off we went out to lunch and then to Home Depot, a gathering place for retired people judging from the crowd I saw. Then we looked at each other—“now what?”

Of course we have many errands to do, many ignored household projects over the years that must be done and some vacations we’d like to take. We want to eat better, exercise more and slow down a little. But that can’t be all there is to retirement. Is it?

I’ve always been extremely goal oriented-is that something that has to be given up in retirement? Maybe just modified?

I’ve read too many blogs/Instagram posts about someone’s to do list and what they ate that day or endless fishing reports. Meaningful to them I am sure. But that is “just not me”!
So far, retirement has been a puzzle to me-a new puzzle that I have never put together before. So let’s see how this unfolds.

Hurricane Florence

We interrupt this regularly scheduled retirement plan to bring you —Hurricane Florence!

Since I last posted, I gave a one-month notice and started to wrap up my sales career. Then, circumstances and nature intervened: a coworker gave notice one week after I did and left our manager in a bad situation, being two people down. Then Hurricane Florence pretty much closed down work—medical personnel is responding to the emergencies at hand. My husband and I have been home since Thursday to stay out of the rain and wind. Rain has really been steady but thankfully wind has not so our trees are upright so far!

Friday afternoon my manager called and pleaded with me to consider postponing my retirement until the end of the year. He says I can work how I need to work to get the territory covered and take care of personal things when needed, no pressure. Hmm, sounds tempting. I don’t mind the work, it’s the extraneous paperwork and tasks I dislike, which he tells me I can now ignore. Three more months of income and not having to pay COBRA until January 1st sounds appealing.

What do you think? What would you do?

Our warm thoughts to everyone caught up in this storm.

Hurricane-florence-2018-mobile-weather-report

Retirement … Ready or Not

I’m staring at the computer with heart palpitations. I’m working on my first draft of my retirement/resignation letter to my manager.

In another week (or two, the date is fluid) I am going to give my retirement notice. I have spent 15 years with my current company and a lifetime of work in healthcare, both as a clinician and as a salesperson. It really is time to go—I am less and less excited about getting up and participating in the daily grind. Healthcare has become more of  a business and less of a calling for everyone out there and it’s stressful. The problem with that is, I am an “all in” kind of person. I don’t do anything halfway. If I work, I work hard. So, I need to move on.

Retirement is a dichotomy…

I’m not literally “retiring” from work in the traditional sense. There’s no pension, no vacation payout, no party, and no gold watch. Those benefits dissolved a few years ago when another major medical manufacturer spun us off and then sold us. For the past few years we have had a new owner, a giant in healthcare, who after  absorbing us are wiping out our identity and culture in order to “fix” us. I get that, they purchased us, it’s their right. My timing is perfect and I get to move on while others have to endure a little longer.

I have loved being part of a smaller, specialty company with a passionate mission–one that had an older than average, technically savvy, and successful sales force. I have been proud to be associated with many of the people there. But that is now gone and I have grown impatient with constant change and I am losing my filters!

Retirement is a dichotomy—a mourning of what will be lost—a work identity, career relationships and even strong friendships, but also a celebration of accomplishments. But I will gain the freedom of having time to do what interests me, creating more time for family and friends, and rediscovering interests from the past and creating new experiences in the future. Maybe those new experiences will include paid work? I don’t know, but it’s time to leap.

Back to composing the letter…