Every once in a while we have a “big” day. A day marked by some new event that redefines the tenor of our life from that point. A perfect example was the day Eric and I left to embark on our Australian adventure. We are forever different and better for those seven years.
In our farewell at our Australian church, I summed up our experience with the following:
“At first I wanted to come to Australia because it is a really cool place. I quickly realized the really cool thing is the people. I am now privileged to consider you all my family and that’s what has made it such a special time.” Because of that one big day, we have more family.
Another one of those days is fast approaching. After 30 years with Boeing – yes 30! Isn’t that mind boggling? – it is time to exit stage left. The end of this month, less than two weeks from now, I’ll walk out the door as a Boeing retiree.
I have to admit I don’t like what “retiree” implies. It somehow seems synonymous with old and I try to pretend that’s not on the horizon. That works pretty well until I get up and find my knees telling me otherwise. Age is not just a number as far as my knees are concerned.
On the other hand, retiree has a nice freedom feeling to it, doesn’t it? In my case it will be a few months of a retirement sampler and then I’ll head back into the fray to do some part-time contracting. Funding retirement travel plans ain’t cheap! During the retirement sampler, Eric and I are heading back to see our Australian family. We can’t wait to hug the heck out of everyone!
I know this is just a toe-dabbling retirement test, but after 30 years, it still feels big. I'm thinking my toe is going to like it so much it'll make it hard to keep from jumping into the deep end. Going to be interesting for sure!
