Retirement Review: September 7, 2014

I decided that five months is a good point to take stock of how I’ve done in retirement. Why wait the traditional six months: Break out of the mold.

Have I recharged and reconnected? Have I moved on to the next phase of my life? I might not be totally there but I have made definite progress. I think regularly posting to this blog has helped me move forward. I made this list to remind myself where my journey has taken me since March 31, 2014.  I have

• traveled in three continents, five countries (not counting layovers), one Canadian province, ten US states (not counting the ones I drove through without stopping), four of the five Great Lakes, and Niagara Falls;
• ridden in a car, a ferry, a train, an airplane, a taxi, a bus, a tram, and a safari vehicle;
• crossed mountains, deserts, sand dunes, oceans, prairies, grasslands, rivers, and lakes;
• encountered six of my seven siblings (I visited my sister in Alaska over Christmas), most of my nieces and nephews, many other relatives, lots of old friends, and five great safari traveling companions; and
• visited or viewed cathedrals, castles, museums, historic houses, game reserves, national parks, elephants, zebras, giraffes, leopards, cheetahs, oryx, kudu, one lonely black rhino, ancient rock engravings, stained glass windows, Cartier jewelry, Norman Rockwell paintings, Alphonse Mucha’s great mural cycle, US civil war historic sites, and a casino.

Retirement Reality: March 31, 2014

Today at 3:30 I was walked out of the building, and I am no longer a federal employee. I have to say that working for a number of federal agencies over the last 31 years has offered me wonderful opportunities. I have worked for six departments in six cities in two countries. I have worked with wonderful (and some not so wonderful) people. I will carry many great memories into retirement.

It is time for me to start my recharging! Let’s see where life takes me. Already on the schedule, house sitting in Seattle, Washington, a driving trip to Minnesota for a wedding, and a safari in Namibia.  Considering running away to Spain and a trip to Greece.

Retirement Reset: January 18, 2014

Sometimes life steps in and disrupts our plans, but in a good way. Last July my goal was to spend the next year planning and preparing  for retirement. My target date was my 60th birthday in August 2014. I have now tossed that goal out the window because I have moved the magic date up to March 31, 2014. The federal agency I work for is offering a buyout to encourage those of us eligible for or close to eligible for retirement to leave by March 31, 2014. I’ve decided to take advantage of that offer. Am I ready to retire in 75 days? Not based on all the things I had planned to accomplish before next August. But I am looking at my early move into the next stage of my life as a positive not a negative. Life goes on and so do I. And the buyout dollars are paying for my 60th birthday trip to Namibia in August. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate both milestone. The world awaits.

Retirement on the horizon: July 14, 2013

My goal in the next year is to prepare for retirement. When I first told one of my sisters I was planning to retire, she asked me what I was going to do for the rest of my life. An important question because I see retirement not as an end but as a beginning. So, over the coming months, I will see where life takes me. I have no fixed direction, but I don’t want to stand still.

So join me on my journey as I plan, learn, explore and create. 

Blogging is new to me. Let me know if any of the links or posts don’t work. I will have only myself to blame. But the fact that this blog is up and running is a testament to the old adage that you are never too old to learn. Click on the category links to the right for digests of related posts.