Dave and I wanted to do something special on the first day of school as new retirees. I suggested hiking the Sea to Sky and taking the gondola down. We took the challenging route up. It was more technical than we expected, but totally doable. It took us a little over 2.5 hours.
What a great way to start the new school year. We might make something like this a new tradition.
It feels a bit weird. Good, but weird. Tomorrow is the first day back to school for teachers and students. Usually this evening is one of feeling the real crunch of ‘back to school’. Normally about now I’d be thinking about my staff meetings, and making sure enough food is ordered. I’d also be thinking of my year goals and feeling the excitement that comes with all the potential for a great school year ahead. But instead of a whirlwind of planning circulating in my brain, I’ve got a few set plans… Starting tomorrow with going on a hike with a buddy who also just retired.
I didn’t expect to feel this mentally free. I thought the new school year pangs would still haunt me. They aren’t. I think one of the things that made this transition so easy is that I got to work closely with my replacement for half a year and I know my schools have been left in excellent, competent hands. There is a catharsis that comes with knowing the schools I loved for 13 and 14 years are going to continue to thrive.
So, no planning to do other than to pack a lunch, drinks, snacks, and an extra layer of clothing. No slideshow presentations, no greeting nervous new students. No big yearly school goals. No staff meetings, no district directives to regurgitate. No obligations to share videos for health and safety or harassment or violence in the workplace… And no onslaught of emails!
I honestly wasn’t sure how ready I was to leave it all behind until now. But I’ve got plans. First, a plan to go for a hike. Then a plan to do the West Coast Trail in a week and a half. And then a plan to spend 3 weeks in Ontario visiting family and friends. And finally a plan to figure out what the rest of retirement looks like… some time in November.
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I wish everyone retuning to the new school year a great year ahead!
My last full day at work was in the first week of July. My last official day was July 31st. But the first real hint that I’ve retired was felt this past Wednesday, when all my Principal and Vice Principal colleagues headed to our board office for a full day of meetings… and I didn’t have to go. It was positively anticlimactic, because I treated it like any other day in my summer holidays.
I did receive an early morning text from a friend and she said, “First day back today. Going to miss trying to find my buddy in the crowd. Enjoy your day!!!!” So I had a frame to set up my thinking about the day and how different it was going to be. Still, I felt no pangs, nor did I feel any celebratory inklings. It just felt lucky to keep going with my summer.
The next big moment will be the first day of school. My Everest the Crunch buddy, Dave, and I are planning a hike on that day. Then just over a week later we are headed to Tofino, and then to do the West Coast Trail (WCT). Just over a week after we return from that, I’m headed to Ontario for 3 weeks in October.
I’ve said for weeks now, when people ask how I like retired life, “Ask me in November, when I’m home and my wife is going to work. Until then, I’m just having a nice extended summer.” That has been my assumed threshold where I figured the experience of retired life would really hit me. But I now feel it has come a little early.
Today I went for a long walk with Dave in my new hiking boots to get ready for the WCT. We walked from his place to the Crunch, did our first crunch since Everesting it (37 times up in less than 2 days, to reach the hight of Mt. Everest), then walked to Starbucks.
The one person in front of me in the line was old, wheelchair bound, and extremely slow. Twenty seconds or so after his transaction, while putting his wallet away, he got confused and pulled it out to pay again, until the cashier politely told him he already paid. Then I waited while he re-put-away his wallet and finally wheeled off. In all honesty, despite my thoughtfulness about his age and challenges, a process like this will often send negative thoughts through my head. I’d think things like, ‘Of course I only have one person in front of me and he takes more time than 3 people.’ Or something else unkind, not because I don’t understand or empathize, but because I’d take in a Murphy’s Law kind of belief system where I’d think I’m always the sucker that has to wait in the slowest lineup.
Today I realized I wasn’t in a rush. I didn’t have to run off to work or a meeting. I wasn’t pressed for time, on the clock, with places to go and people to meet. I could take the time to notice things like the barista asking this elderly man by name if he was eating in or outside so that she could bring him his drink and food when it was ready. And I could see the patience and kindness of the teller when she told this man he already paid. This wonderful man was a regular and this was his community coffee shop.
And I’m not in a rush. My head isn’t overflowing with plans, and my calendar isn’t filled with consecutive appointments. I am not on anyone else’s schedule. I can pause and appreciate a senior in our community being taken care of in a coffee shop by caring service workers who look out for him… And right then I really felt it. I’m retired. I didn’t have to wait until November.
When I moved to Vancouver, I lived a couple blocks from a corner market store that I went to regularly. I got to know the owner, and he treated me to day-old newspapers for free. Unsold papers were not paid for by him, he simply had to cut out the name and date on the front page to return and then recycle the rest of the paper… but he’d save one for me rather than recycle it. For a few months I was a regular reader of the paper news, something I’ve seldom done before or after that time.
In a box in my garage, I know I have a file with clippings I kept from that time. It has been 20+ years since I’ve even seen this file, much less read any of the articles in it. However, there is one article I clipped because at the time it seemed unsettling to me. It was an autobiographical article about an ambitious journalist who got married, had a kid, and completely shifted his priorities. He no longer had the desire to be a travelling journalist seeking news and adventures in foreign lands. Instead, he found joy and desire to be home, spending time with family, and walking his kid to school each morning.
The article was very well written, and convincing… And it bothered me. I remember putting the paper into the recycling bin, and a day or two later before taking it out on trash day, I decided to clip the article out. I was a single, 26-year-old and I decided to keep it as a sort of cautionary tale, a reminder to keep my goals at the forefront, and not ‘settle down’… Not let my aspirations go just because of family.
So why am I thinking of this now? A couple reasons. First, I was young and foolish and didn’t understand the joy of raising kids. But the real reason this came to mind is that now as I head towards the first September in 30 years that I’m not thinking about what I’ll be doing at school, I realize how much my priorities will change.
I recognize that so much of what I defined myself by was about being a teacher and a leader. And that’s gone now. Work defined a large part of my day, and that in turn structured how I identified myself. Without that, what am I? I can see this question getting existential for some retirees… but I’m seeing it in a really good light.
Family and friends, projects I’ve always wanted to get done, more time to write, and even time to cook. These are some of the things I’m going to settle into.
I thought I was keeping that article as a cautionary tale, but I kept it to understand the writer’s perspective, just not as soon as him. He wasn’t settling for less, he was getting settled with priorities that matter.
Yesterday evening my cousin texted me that his brother is in town. So today I changed my plans and am heading to visit them this afternoon. I know that seeing my visiting cousin will include beverages… and no way to drive home safely, so I’ve packed a bag and will plan to stay the night.
I also know that with my ‘Everest the Crunch’ event starting on Friday, I can’t have a late night like this later in the week. So I just changed my plans and made the visit tonight instead of on the coming days.
I love having the flexibility to make last minute decisions like this. I think that’s going to be one of the best parts of retirement. Sure I love my routines, and maintaining good habits, but I also enjoy letting loose on short notice. Knowing that I have the time to do this, not just in the summer but beyond, is a real gift I’m looking forward to!
Dave Sands and I will be Everesting the Crunch starting a week from today. Our training has tapered, and we just need to stay injury free. This morning after a shoulder workout at the gym, we hopped onto the Crunch to do just one, and we created this video inviting people to join us next week.
I mentioned ‘Do hard things’ briefly in the video, this is something that has been on my mind a lot recently as I head into retirement. I’m not just going to the gym, I’m trying to make gains. I’m not just trying to go up the crunch again, I’m trying to walk up it 37 times in less than 48 hours, which involves walking up hill the distance of 2 marathons. I’m not just continuing my daily blog, I’m planning to write a book starting in November.
Hard things.
I think we find more meaning out of life when we try to do hard things. That said, I’m not trying to do it alone. We need to also make connections and maintain meaningful relationships. It means so much that I’m doing this with Dave, and it means so much to us that our family and friends will be there to support us.
Since announcing my retirement I’ve heard different versions of the question, “So, what are you going to fill your time with?” at least a couple dozen times.
I guess that might be an issue for some, but not for me. I will fill my time. I will enjoy longer workouts. I will get more use out of my hot tub. I’ll write, and write, and write. I’ll edit videos. I’ll cook meals that take time to prepare. I’ll find more time to be outdoors.
I’ll be one of those people that complains about being more busy retired than when I worked.
My time will be filled.
It’s hard to believe that I’ve never owned my own phone. I’ve been an administrator since the mid 2000’s, and the job came with a phone. Before that my wife and I shared a phone… Why would we have needed our own phones?
With the end of the month retirement deadline looming, and a holiday to the interior on our agenda, it was time for me to head to the store and buy a phone in my own name. It’s seems rather odd to be saying that for the first time in 2026. Just think of all the changes that have occurred since I shared a flip phone with my wife.
How different are our lives? How much more focused on our phones are we? How much more do we rely on them for information, banking, entertainment, direction, and of course, communication?
I couldn’t imagine sharing a phone today… I’m having a hard time remembering how I did it 20 years ago!?!
I feel like my last month has been nothing but packing up and moving:
Putting life’s ‘stuff’ in boxes, weeding out the unwanted, and still holding on to more than we should.
Moves are healthy. They are the times we actually do reminisce and recall the memories we cherish. They are also the times we let go of things that we should have long ago. That said, the unpacking is not nearly as much fun. It’s one of those things you’ve got to slog through, but it sure feels good when it’s all done!
Summer days can be tricky. The routine of work is gone and schedules are made up on the fly. Today I had a great workout then spent the next 2 hours in the kitchen doing meal prep. Then I had a doctor’s appointment and decided to drop some food off at a friend’s house.
I had forgotten that there was a World Cup semifinal game and was lucky enough to join my friend for the second half, where all 3 goals were scored. As exciting as that was, I didn’t have a lot of sleep last night and was practically falling asleep on the couch. I came home and had a 20 minute nap before a massage therapy appointment this afternoon.
Now I’m home and heading out in a bit for dinner at a restaurant with my wife and our niece. Yesterday at noon, the only thing scheduled for today was my workout and the massage, everything else sort of came up after that. Looking back on the day now, it has been quite busy, which sounds ridiculous to say when a nap was part of the day.
I guess this is good preparation for retirement. What will constitute a busy day will be so much different than what the work day usually entails. I think I’ve had practice with summers off, but I do believe it’s going to feel quite weird when I see my wife heading off to work in September and my summer mode will continue.
I know my mindset, and I think I will need to figure out how I will quantify my days when retired. I have no desire to just make myself busy, but I also know that I can completely waste a day away if I’m not careful. I don’t yet know what my measurements or scales will be, but I will find a way to ensure that I feel good about how I spend my days.
I spent my day very well today.
