It’s so unsettling to be one foot in and one foot out the door at work. There are small signs that next year might actually turn out to be quite promising (fully staffed library, extra monies, flex schedule 4 days per week with only a fixed rotation every Friday for genius hour, kids who could do the book battle and morning announcements from Day 1), then there’s the incessant barrage of stupid stuff coming from everywhere else that makes me want to run for the door and not look back. Today’s librarian meeting was a preview of all the initiatives being rolled-out for the upcoming school year. No, thank you. The value of attending today’s meeting was that I am now totally confident in my decision to move on to whatever’s next.
Hubby officially retires in 3 weeks. He’s been a pain in my posterior as he winds things down. Like me, one of the activities he thought would fill a good portion of his free time has changed. It’s not due to COVID concerns either. Events have been cancelled because equipment needed to participate in the event is expensive and/or hard to come by due to supply chain issues. Gas prices and higher travel costs have also caused some participants to curtail the number of events they attend. Then the mask mandate was extended. To top it all off, his cancer check-up is in mid-April. So that’s front and center again.
We celebrated his birthday on Sunday. Over dinner, we discussed what our plans were for the next 3-6 months. He seemed concerned that I only had events booked through June when he had things booked out through October. I reminded him that I’d deliberately left July and August open in case I had to return for another school year. There is a major quilting event I am planning to attend in mid-September. If working, I will burn my personal days so that I can attend. Did he want to go with me? (Yes, he does.)
Once June travel comes to a close, I plan to hole up in my quilt cave and decompress until school starts. I’ll only venture out for special celebrations, therapy dog visits or quilt camp volunteering. Come July 22nd, I’ll either be reporting back for a new school year or planning August travels and therapy dog visits.
As I’ve stated previously, my plan is to join hubby at the end of May, but nothing will be officially decided until early May. If hubby doesn’t stay busy and tries to “manage” me, I may just decide to find a part-time job as a way to maintain my sanity. 🙂
What I do look forward to in retirement is a slower pace of life where I can enjoy spending time with people – not crossing stuff off a to-do list. Yes, Pat’s closing Stitch N Quilt did throw a wrench in my plans for Tuesdays and the occasional Saturday. I’ve discovered there are other options. It may take some time to visit and figure out exactly what I want to do, but that’s okay. It’s part of the process.
Here’s to 47 more days!
Come Stitch With Me, LLC 