Ramping up for retirement
- Debbie Kerr
- May 5
- 5 min read
Time is ticking. It’s hard to believe. After decades of working, I won’t have a job soon. The salary I’ve become accustomed to will be gone. My benefits will be gone. The consistency, the pattern of my life, will change dramatically. I will be retired.
Yes ‘retired’ but not ‘RETIRED!’ On the excitement meter, I am still at the lowercase stage, and time is running out for me to reach full uppercase status.
My last day of work is May 15th and then I will use my remaining vacation days until I reach my official retirement date on June 12th. People ask me if I am counting the days, and I am doing the opposite. I’m trying not to count the days. In fact, I wish I had longer. Sorry, I heard someone fall off their chair when I said that. A few of you asked if I was crazy. The answer is, ‘possibly’.
Lowercase ‘retired’
stress
Right now, I am more stressed than excited. I’m at the getting ready to go on vacation stage, where you are trying to get everything done so that everything should run smoothly while you’re gone. When you come back to work, you experience the stress of getting caught up. Sometimes you might wonder if it was worth it.
With retirement, there won’t be anything to catch up on, because I won’t be coming back. I will be on a permanent vacation, and I’ve been told it’s very good. I’ve been told it’s the next great chapter of my life. I feel like all these retired people were previously in sales.
I am also trying to use as many of my benefits as possible. I feel like I am rushing to get my Christmas shopping done. I have a benefits wish list and I’m trying to cram everything in. I’ve had an eye exam for the first time in over eight years, but I haven’t ordered my glasses yet. There’s dental work, like crowns. The first stage of that excitement is coming soon. Two weeks later, I get to finish the fun. So much to do in so little time.
And that’s only the beginning. I don’t want to leave any benefit unturned.
I am also getting used to navigating the world of the 65+. I have reached that milestone. I am technically retiring on schedule. People are too kind when they say they would never have guessed that I am 65. Ironically, these are the same people who usually only see my picture on their computer screen in meetings. I swear my picture is recent.
fear
Retirement is a big step outside my comfort zone. While others celebrate that retirement will allow them to do what they want, when they want, I like structure. I want a clear picture of what I will do each day or I will do nothing. I worry that I will give myself the freedom to watch TV and relax until, suddenly, I have wasted a day. I don’t want to waste too many days so that my golden years become fool’s gold.
A Few Capitals
In an effort to add a few capitals to my current lowercase status, I have started to celebrate these little successes at work:
Being able to decline meetings that won’t apply to me because I won’t be there.
Knowing that I won’t have to log my time and what I did each week. As a bonus, I won’t get a weekly reminder to complete this task.
Forgoing the usual writing of SMART goals for the year.
Having even more one-on-one online lunches with co-workers and former co-workers. I have never been so popular.
Being able to collect people’s contact information so that we can stay in touch.
Trying even harder to make my co-workers laugh. Unfortunately, my replacement has a great sense of humour, so my team might not miss me as much as I’d hoped. 😊
Feeling productive because I am scrambling to get so much done.
Outside of work, I have started to appreciate these bonuses:
Not needing to check whether something is happening on a Saturday or Sunday because I don’t have to work the next day.
Being able to drop whatever I’m doing if my grandson shows up at the door unexpectedly. Of course, that also means my son and/or daughter-in-law will be a great surprise too. 😊 I won’t have to check to see if I have meetings or any deadlines to meet.
Going places on weekdays and avoiding weekend crowds.
All uppercase RETIREMENT
As a writer and someone who has studied readability, I want you to know that putting something totally in uppercase makes it harder to read, so it defeats the purpose. However, for the purpose of this post, UPPERCASE is the goal for my excitement meter.
I wonder what to tell people I will be doing when I retire. There is no big trip in my future. The only plans I have are currently in my head. In fact, I have started to look things up on Facebook for inspiration about what I might like to do. To assist me, Facebook is using its algorithm to continue my search for me.
I have some goals for when I retire, but there isn’t a five-year plan or any definite plans. However, I have started a list of what I want to be doing:
Spending more time with my grandson.
Completing more projects around the house.
Cleaning. Yes, it’s still needed. Dirt doesn’t retire.
Writing for my blog, advocacy work, and anything else that comes along.
Completing my ‘Know Your Lemons’ certification so I can become a ‘Lemonista’ and spread the word about breast health and early detection of breast cancer.
Providing the patient perspective to trigger change that will improve healthcare both inside and outside of hospitals.
As I write this, I’m starting to feel a sense of excitement that could lead to an UPPERCASE retirement, including an exclamation mark at the end. And I don’t use exclamation marks lightly, just as I didn’t make the decision to retire lightly. For many people, this decision would be a no brainer, but I have always been special (in both a good and bad way), so I struggled with the decision and the timing.
It’s close. So close.
I have started to say good-bye to my co-workers and, those darn people, without taking my emotions into consideration, say kind things about working with me and, in general, my delightful personality. These words make me cry.
Maybe this is why I tell myself, “You can do it. You can do it.” It might not be so much that I can’t handle retiring. It could be that I am struggling with saying good-bye to so many great people.