Getting busier and better

kw: retirement

A number of retirees have said they have so much to do they don't know how they ever had time to work. I think I understand. My last in-office day is at the end of this week, and the carried-over vacation days will then fill out my tenure. I have already been in contact with a couple organizations at which I hope to volunteer. I also plan to take the real estate course, not necessarily to become a realtor (though a lot of retirees do so), but so I'll be a much more knowledgeable seller whenever we decide to move elsewhere. Then there is the growing "honey-do list". A friend was told by his wife, "I married you for better or for worse, but not for lunch." My wife doesn't mind having lunch with me, as long as I have been knocking off items in the job jar. But I do plan to get out of the house a few days a week.

At the retiree reception earlier today I was one of 14 leaving the company. From the announcements that were e-mailed out yesterday, I count a total of 483 years of service at this company; some folks had a prior career as I did. The average is 483/14 = 34.5. I've been here nearly the shortest at 27 years, and one man has 24. One woman worked here 50 years, and is retiring only reluctantly! That isn't a record; a colleague retired a few years ago after 60 years with the company. He started as a groundskeeper at age 18, and likes to tell the story of nearly getting fired his first day for driving his mower over a shrub and whacking it to the ground.

One transition I will not make is to end this blog. I am as interested as ever in all kinds of things, and continue to read voraciously. My continuing readership of about 150 daily "hits" indicates that at least a few people share some of my interests. That probably makes me something like the two-millionth most popular blog. That's OK. I write this for myself, and you are welcome to eavesdrop on this ongoing conversation among me, myself and I. I am reading an enigmatic space opera just now, so stay tuned!