Not Enough Time!

I’ve been retired just over two weeks now. The first week was strange… I kept feeling like I had to go to work. By the second week, though, I’d settled right into the rhythm of not working.

I realize I’m already having the problems many retirees have.

What day is this? 
This only matters because I need to know which day to go to the Senior Center for my Pilates class. And which day I go to the chiropractor because of the Pilates class. (Why in the world did I think I could handle a vigorous exercise class when I’ve been a slug for the last several years?)

Financial shock 
The financial shock of not having paychecks automatically deposited to my checking account won’t really hit until the end of the month. Fortunately, I started practicing a reduction in careless spending last year, and I’ve tightened my financial belt even more this month.

Not enough time 
There’s not enough time to do all the things I need to do. How did I ever have enough time to work?

April Fools’ Day

I walked into my supervisor’s office today and told her I quit.

Retirement on April Fools’ Day is a joke come true. Last year, whenever I asked my supervisor for permission to retire, she either told me ‘NO!' or 'Sure, after she did in another 20 years’ – all humorously, of course.

My Project Director had heard me joke about retiring on April 1st and immediately initiated training for two additional staff to learn what I did throughout the year-long work cycle. So, two co-workers are now trained in my job duties, and my tasks have been reassigned to three people. And that begs the question: does it take two or three people to replace me, or is this a simple case of attrition?

Sometimes you get what you ask for. Whether retiring on April Fools’ Day is irony or an omen has yet to be seen. Anyway, I smashed my alarm clock. Retirement begins tomorrow.

And my publisher is already waiting for my next book.