Doing What I Damn Well Please
Angelia Vernon Menchan
On December 31 of last year , I retired from being gainfully employed for well over forty years , taking about a combined total of three years off to have babies and a few months here and there to move around the world with my military man .
In the early years , my focus was having jobs to help make ends meet . As I aged , and educated I took on careers — a drug and alcohol counselor , marketing director , Job Corps Counselor , and for the past eighteen years a Federal Administrative Officer ; which was largely budget formulation and execution but components of grants , Human Resources , and social police . The position was the longest and most rewarding career but sometimes … lonely . I worked for U . S . Fish and Wildlife Service , an organization not known for its diversity . By the time I retired , our office was the most diverse .
Since 2015 , retirement had been on my mind . November 2016 , when we ended up with a new political administration , I knew my federal career was nearing its end . I was losing enthusiasm and was unable to work under such interesting agendas . I recall after Thanksgiving , my husband and I were driving home from Ft . Lauderdale after a trip to Turks and Caicos with friends . Our conversation went something like this :
“ M , I ’ m going to retire at the end of the year . I ’ ve done all I can . We ’ re in a great place financially and we ’ ll be actually in better financial shape once I retire , based on my investing .”
“ I know baby ,” he replied , smiling . “ I was just waiting on you to decide . I know we ’ re ready either way .”. He knew based on my retirement and his military retirement and working but he had no idea how I had been investing . He trusted me as I did him .
After the holidays , I told my supervisor and he was kind of cryptic , “ Well , you ’ ve said that a few times and haven ’ t left . You aren ’ t gone until you ’ re gone .” He remained in denial until almost eleven months later when they started planning my retirement parties . He
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