Ahhh, the good life
and it really is, but.......
After a little more than two decades, I
have let go of a relationship that I’ve clung
to like a life preserver. I’ve been in this
relationship longer than I’ve known my
child and seen the other characters in this
drama more than I’ve seen my family and
was completely faithful to it with minimal
thoughts of cheating! (No, I’m not counting time on some social media sites, nor
am I counting texting friends, just like
people don’t count drooling over celebs
as cheating on their spouses! - judge not,
I say!) This relationship was with my job
- yes, my actual job. Well, I could say it
broke up with me because I was forced to
retire, before being pension-eligible, because of downsizing, but I like the sound
of me walking away much better! (Envision high-heeled boots, good lipstick and
smoke, strutting away, with credits, like
“Yeah, I did that!” lol)
Anyway, when the announcement
came, I was not surprised. It’s been going
on for some time at our company. I was
actually kind of giddy! I had the mindset
of spread your wings and fly, climb every
mountain, touch everything! I was, and
still am determined to see things from a
shiny perspective and will not allow anyone (including myself ) to tarnish that
view. I was excited but had no idea what
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was next: vacation, a new car, a really good
massage!!! Oh yeah! Something, to reward
the years of me sticking it out! I think some
of that’s coming but, not quite yet. There’s
some learning that goes along with that
shining and this change.
So let’s see, it’s been two weeks since
I found myself riding the afternoon train
homeward, trying to look more interesting than lost, with my desk plant and tea
pot in a box (I ignored curious looks from
other passengers at my obvious, my-deskis-cleared-box). Since that last scheduled
ride downtown, all kinds of good stuff has
made its way to the surface of my current
lifestyle:
1. The “retiree” label is wayyy cooler if
you know you don’t have to go back to
work eventually and you have the money
to run away at will! Seeing as I have not won
the lottery and feel like I can’t, not working
for the next 20 years - I feel like I’m on an
extended lunch hour time crunch to live a
little, then, get back on the clock! (Yes, I
did get something for time rendered, and
although I won’t be selling pencils on the
corner, I won’t be buying boats or jetting
across the world any time soon either)
2. Retirement at a younger age means
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