Come Stitch With Me

Sometimes life whacks you in the back of the head while you are laser-focused and moving toward a goal. Our goal has always been an EARLY target retirement date of March 2025. Cancer and COVID caused us move the target date up to June 2023. Navigating our new work normal in the era of COVID has certainly been interesting. No wonder people are quitting jobs in record numbers. You eventually reach the point when you’ve had enough.

I reached that point on our first day of teacher preplanning. Apparently, my husband had a similar revelation about the same time while he was in the tube undergoing his most recent CT scan. He shared a little bit of what was going on at work before he left for his annual pilgrimage to the trapshooting competition in Sparta, IL. Since his return, we’ve had some very frank discussions about the future. His most recent visit to MD Anderson was mostly positive, but the blood tests show the cancer cells are active somewhere in his body. There just aren’t enough of them in any one place to show up on a scan.

These discussions have led to a flurry of activity:

(1) Number crunching – do we press pause or can we actually retire early?
(2) Figuring out our health insurance options. With his cancer, we need insurance. This is a non-negotiable.
(3) Being realistic about what life might look like without a day job.
(4) Am I really ready to stop working?

Answer: Health insurance coverage is going to be driving the bus. Fortunately, we do have some options for COBRA through our employers and private insurance; however, none of the options comes cheap.

My take: After 20 years of doing essentially the same thing, I’m ready for a new adventure. I’d like to chill for 6-12 months, travel, volunteer with Sadie and work on my sewing biz. I imagine I’ll be plenty busy, but I can always go find a part-time job if I get bored.

As Dave Ramsey always says, “Live like no one else so later you can live like no one else.”

It’s very true. We’ve worked hard, saved money and lived well below our means. We’ve been at Step 7 (Dave Ramsey plan) for a while. On paper, the numbers say we’re ready. Mentally, we’re ready. In a couple of weeks, I’ll have confirmed the nuances involved in keeping my existing insurance coverage in place during the gap between my last day of employment and the date I reach the age to receive my pension (insurance drops to retiree rate once my pension checks start if I keep the insurance in place during the gap).

So, if the price of freedom = 24 months of COBRA insurance payments, you bet we’re going for it!

Classes:

Kid’s sewing classes are booked through January 2022 at the Southeast Quilt & Textile Museum.

Technical Editing:

Need technical editing for your quilting pattern? I have availability starting in September.

Etsy Shop:

Curated precut packs are being assembled from my stash to be listed in my Etsy shop along with other notions and goodies.

Other:

Learning to master my Cricut Maker.
Finishing up the last block of my Christmas redwork project
Reviewing website hosting options
Currently determining exactly how soon I can exit the day job [super excited about this one!]

It was 6:47 when I suddenly woke up from a deep sleep. It was light outside. The other side of the bed was still empty, so hubs must’ve decided to stop somewhere for the night instead of driving all the way home from Illinois. Panicked, I took a quick shower, got dressed and hopped in the car. I was LATE. I texted a coworker to let her know I would be about 30 minutes late.

Thankfully, that text never went through.

When I passed the preschool that should have had a car rider line out into the street, I knew something was amiss. Siri confirmed that it was indeed 7:25 in the evening, not 7:25 in the morning.

Relieved yes, but I was definitely not liking that slightly disoriented feeling one bit. I’d woken up from a 2-1/2 hour nap actually feeling well rested, but then panic set in when I thought I’d slept through two alarms and would be late for work.

What triggered this?

Getting back in the school groove has been hard this year. I’ve felt sleep deprived over the past 3 weeks due to hot flashes, allergies and my night owl tendencies. The “let’s get through this together” nurturing atmosphere at work has been replaced by one with a very authoritarian vibe. Everything is now so structured and dire consequences are threatened if you do not conform as expected. Mandatory 10 day quarantine for close contact COVID is now deducted from your sick days if you are out. Plus, you will be targeted for punitive action because you missed more than the 7 days the new board policy considers acceptable. At the local school level, being late to anything is now documented and inexcusable (regardless of the reason). The new zero tolerance policy is because a few employees abused the previous flex-time policy. (Kind of like all of us having to wear a mask now even though we’re vaccinated!)

So, I arrive slightly before the appointed start time and leave no later than 15 minutes after the appointed end time. I attend meetings that really don’t pertain to me and close the library to do so. I make sure to adhere to my lunch/planning time each day. I struggle with not being there for my patrons like I have in the past.  I do the best I can while I’m there and I leave the job there at the end of the day.  I’m not the only one who has chosen to cope this way.  We’ve learned the hard way that team players are the last to be rewarded. We’re either heaped with more responsibilities because we’re capable, or cuts are made to our programs because they know we’ll make do and still bust our butts to deliver the same levels of service. No more. No difference in my pay check. Not worth my mental and physical health to stress about it. 

And one more thing: it’s very clear that the season in my current role is coming to a close. I’ll take advantage of the next several months to figure out what’s next and move in that direction.