I’m writing this on Sunday, which is my 64th birthday and the official date of my Social Security application. I think this means that I’m officially retired.
Leah and I didn’t do anything special for today. I didn’t put out a couple of pairs of pants and some shirts. I didn’t pack underwear and socks. I didn’t figure out which frozen dinners I would need. I didn’t put some cereal, skim milk and orange juice aside, or pick out some apples, or count out the cookies I would need for the coming week. I didn’t think about missile defense target models or optical signatures. I didn’t think about reports, and I didn’t think about meetings.
Instead I thought about how much more firewood I need to cut for next winter. I thought about completing the retaining wall on the uphill side of the walk I’m making around the house. I thought about replacing some boards on the deck, staining the deck, and redoing the handrails. I thought about replacing some more cracked tiles in the bathroom. I thought about whether we should complete the basement or let it remain partially finished. I thought about what we’ll do when we visit Savannah in a few weeks.
I have been effectively retired for a couple of months. Back in February on my last day in Huntsville, I finished up some work I needed to do, said ‘bye to a couple of people who happened to be in the office, and walked out the door. There was no going-away lunch or happy-retirement card. A couple of people I have known for a few years had said earlier they would miss me. The people I worked with for the last 28 years weren’t in the office, so there was no goodbye there. I did hear by email from one mentioning that I should come over for a retirement lunch some time, but that’s looking unlikely. She also emailed with some potential work I could do at home, but nothing about that lately either.
So that’s the way my work life ends, not with a bang but a whimper.
But I’m not a sentimental person, at least not about work. Maybe one day Leah and I will end up passing through Huntsville on a work day and we’ll eat lunch with some people. I’ll vote for Rosie’s or Sandoval’s. They serve good Mexican food.
Yesterday I didn’t think, so today I did. So far, so good. Happy Birthday Mark!
I can easily echo your thoughts on the non sentimentality.
That sounds like the kind of exit I would like to have (should that ever be possible). Happy Birthday!
Wayne — Thanks. I always said that thinking was one of my responsibilities of my job, so when I was off the clock, I never thought about work. So that’s what I do now.
Pablo — In a way, my exit was kind of funny. I had worked with some of these people ever since I started in Huntsville in 1986. But most people where I worked had to sit at various government or other contractor offices, so I seldom saw them anyway. I hope you do find it possible to walk out of your work some day and make one that drive down to Roundrock that doesn’t involve a drive back anywhere else.
Congrats, Mark! I’ve been leading our organization for 27 years now, and I don’t think my board of directors will let me make as quiet an exit as I would like when the time comes. It seems like there should have been at least a little bit of hoopla when you left; maybe the lack thereof meant they were happy to see you go… 🙂
Scott — I have to admit that, once I actually thought about it, it did seem a little odd. But I’m not worrying about it. I’m just glad to start another phase of my life.
Happy birthday and congratulations on your retirement. Your exit sounds perfect to me. A wave good bye and out the door. I applied for social security benefits too. What a weird thing it will be to start collecting that. Yikes. We really are senior citizens!
Hope you and Leah enjoy every minute of your new life away from the work world.
Robin Andrea — It is hard to believe, but I have to face the fact that I am a senior citizen now.
Every week since Leah and I got married I have worked three or four days of every week out of town, so we are having to adjust to my being home all the time. My adjustment was easy, but I’m not sure it has been that easy for Leah.
Keep us posted about that, Mark. Though she works outside the house, Kaii’s afraid that we’re going to get on one another’s nerves pretty fast once we stop working and are home together.
Roger and I spend all of our time together. We’ve learned how to give each other a lot of space. We’re both quiet. We like to take walks and hikes together, but we also like to read and to contemplate life in our own solitary ways. Roger likes rock and roll music more than I do, but I give him a break on that. LOL!
Scott — We’re rubbing rough edges off each other, but on the whole we both prefer my being home to the way it was when I had to work out of town for three or four days at a time.
Robin Andrea — We’re still getting used to it. It wasn’t just that I was out of the house during work hours, I was away from home entirely for the days I worked. Neither one of us liked that, but that’s the way it has been since we started dating back in 1999, so there is some adjustment.