Tag Archives: retirement

Travel, travel, travel

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I went to a 30th Anniversary celebration today and met someone I knew who retired 15 years ago. When she heard I was retiring this year she went directly into ‘advice mode’ and said, ‘Tavel!’

She continued, “Travel as much as you can. In fact, there is no such thing as travelling too much. Book more plans that you think you need to and you still won’t travel enough.”

She then explained how travel changes over time. Her husband has mobility issues now so they travel with that in mind. But in travels earlier in her retirement there were hikes, and walking tours, and even hostels. “Do the things you can’t and won’t want to do later right away. Travel, travel, travel.”

I love hearing this. There is so much of the world yet to see, and more places I’ve already been to and would go back to if only the unexplored world were not so big. I know that at 75 my travel plans will be much different than the plans I make in the next 5 years. And so I hope to be quite adventurous in my travel over the next few years.

Hitting a lot of ‘lasts’

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As I approach retirement, I’m start to hit a lot of ‘lasts’. The last time I’m figuring out staffing. The last time I’m supervising a Spring Formal. And tonight was the last District’s Principal Association dinner. I’ve got a few more things that I’ve still got to do more than once, but it seems like every time I turn around I’m doing yet another thing for the last time.

I’ve honestly not thought too much of it in my day-to-day, and often realize I did something for the last time after the fact… But that has taken a recent turn. As my last day at work looms, I have to admit that I’m thinking about it a lot more. The last moment of the last day seems really surreal to me… and it’s getting a whole lot closer.

The last dance

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Today I head to an all day meeting of Provincial Online Learning School (POLS) principals. This is followed by an Executive Meeting of our Principal’s organization and the opening of the Digital Learning Conference which goes until Friday. This marks my last face-to-face meetings with these groups, and my last conference before I retire.

I’ve been involved with online learning since 2011. I’ve been on the executive since 2014. This is a special group of educators, and looking back, I don’t think anyone in this group of principals was around when I started, although at the conference I’ll see many educators who have worked in this field longer than me.

It’s a real special bunch of principals and educators who work in online learning. We are a unique group who have far more in common with each other than we have with educators and leaders in our own districts. Our challenges are common, and our relationships to things like audits and Ministry of Education criteria are lived in a way that typical principals and educators have no idea about.

And so for me this is a bit of a last dance. It’s a farewell to a group of colleagues whom I’ve shared a very special bond with. We’ve faced similar challenges, we’ve fought similar battles, we’ve called each other up for support, and we’ve openly shared to make our practices and our schools better. Upon retiring I’m going to miss this group… but for the next few days, I’m going to thoroughly enjoy their company.

Simplify rather than shrink

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I don’t remember where I heard this, but the concept has been on my mind recently:

Simplify rather than shrink.

The idea is that retirement doesn’t necessarily mean becoming less, but rather doing less. No I won’t be going into work anymore, and the titles and responsibilities will be less, but that doesn’t mean who I am will shrink. It’s way better to perceive the changes as simplifying my life. I’ll be able to wake up later than 5am, I won’t have to rush my morning workout, or race to get my writing done. On the contrary, I can work out for longer and write more.

I don’t have to rush the making of dinner, or choose a meal based on speed of preparation rather than preference. I won’t have to give up the quality and healthiness of a meal for convenience. I can also commit to some projects mid-week rather than waiting for the weekend.

This isn’t a shrinking of what I do, it’s expanding the things I want to do, while also simplifying my life. It’s removing the commitment to a job that can sometimes take 10 hours of my week day and creep into weekends, (if not in workload then at least in mental energy).

This frame of simplifying rather than shrinking is one than I think works for me. It’s a metaphor that allows me to get excited about my upcoming retirement. It allows me to see retirement as a wonderful opportunity to expand the use my time on things that allow me to be more of who I want to be. There will be no shrinking, there will definitely be some simplifying.

A new groove

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It wasn’t that hard getting up on Monday morning at 5am to get to the gym. Coming back from a two week break didn’t hurt that much. But getting back into the routine of writing before I got to the gym at 6am has been a struggle.

It’s almost 11pm now and I’m laying down on my couch rattling this off to keep a commitment to myself to write every day.

The thing I am most looking forward to with retirement is time to write. The idea that I can schedule writing time that isn’t rushed excites me. Not having to think up ideas on the toilet first thing in the morning, or while washing my face and brushing my teeth. Not having to edit my work while on a treadmill. Actually sitting at a laptop with a coffee in my hand rather than hunting and pecking away on my phone… these are things I can’t wait to do as part of a daily routine upon retirement.

Before the March break people would ask me if I’m excited about my pending retirement and I’d answer honestly that I haven’t thought much about it. Now, after the break, I can’t say that anymore. I am thinking about it. I’m wondering how to design my days? I’m looking forward to finding a new groove that doesn’t involve a 5am wake up time and rushing to get my whole routine done before starting a long day at work.

The real test will be next September, when everyone is back at work and I’m home. I’m confident that I’ll build a routine that works. I’ll find my groove.

…And crash

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Day three of March break and my eyes and nose are streaming. The good news is that I don’t feel sick other than a little congestion. The bad news is, even if I’m not feeling awful, I’m still sick.

I’m tired of the pattern of getting to a holiday break and my body crashing. It’s a pattern I’ve seen too often and it has decided to repeat on my last March break.

Oh well, it got me again.

As I was reminded be a retired friend, March breaks from now on will be times to avoid holidays rather than go on them. My upcoming retirement will include not travelling at the most expensive times, when everyone else is travelling.

Now it’s off to bed with a handful of tissues and cold medication. I’m hoping some sunshine and rest will hurry this runny nose along. And I’m really hoping to avoid these kinds of crashes in the future.

Are you sure?

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Today is the day that I officially announce to my district that I’m retiring. The deadline is the end of the month, but I want to do it today so that I don’t have to think about it on my March break, which starts tomorrow. So, a couple months ago when the process was sent to us as a reminder, I threw the instructions into a calendar reminder for today. I have obviously never done this before, but I’m told that as part of the process you are asked, ‘Are you sure?’ …not once, but twice.

This is neither a light nor a small decision, but it’s one I’ve made with clarity of mind. This June, when I see my students off for the last time, it will indeed be for the last time. I am moving on. I am confident that this is the right decision for me.

‘Are you sure?’ Yes.

‘Are you sure?’ Yes.

Not if, when

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The only thing I use AI for when I write my blog is to make an accompanying image. I don’t use it for editing, and as a result I’ll often not notice a typo, or I’ll create a sentence that doesn’t flow, or I’ll repeat a word a little too frequently in a paragraph. What I’m saying is that I’ll make mistakes that could be caught if I used an artificial intelligence to aid in my editing.

That said, I already do use some AI because a little red line unner under a word lets me know I’ve misspelled it. We often forget that we’ve been using forms of artificial intelligence for a long time now. But I’m specifically talking about using AI as an editor or even as a co-writer. This is something I have not intentionally done yet. However, if I’m honest, the main reason for this is simply time.

I’m already pressed for time to get my writing done in the morning. I recently wrote about how frustrated I was with AI images, and the fact that they weren’t giving me exactly what I wanted, and wasted too much time. I don’t see myself in a position where I’m going to spend time using AI as an editor on top of this.… But it’s coming.

The reason it’s coming is because while I know writing every day has improved the quality of my writing, I’m sure it has also reinforced some of the weaknesses in my style. Doing something repetitively without meaningful feedback doesn’t necessarily make you better. I know that having an editor would make me better. And the reality is, I have an editor available to me whenever I want one. So now it’s just a matter of deciding when?

The ‘when’ is probably after retirement. I think that when I’m not trying to stick an entire routine of habits into under 2 1/2 hours before work, I’ll have time for things like putting my writing into an AI editor. I’ll probably be writing on my laptop instead of my phone, while enjoying a morning coffee. I’ll have the convenience of multiple tabs open on my browser rather than having to use my finger to copy paste information. And most importantly, I’ll have more time to learn, to get feedback and discern, does this AI suggestion make my writing better, or does it make my writing more vanilla?

The point is, it’s going to happen. To have a tool like this, literally at my fingertips and not to use it is silly. Especially when it can help me, with the right prompt, to become better at something I love to do.

99 Days

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Although I’m retiring at the end of the school year I really haven’t been tracking or counting down (yet). But I do have a colleague that is also retiring and he shared with me that yesterday marked 100 work days until we are done. So I’m heading into work today with just 99 work days left. That seems a bit surreal to me.

I know someone who started their retirement countdown with over 2 years left. It worked for him, but my mind doesn’t operate that way. I have always struggled with being excited through anticipation. I used to fake it for my kids, but they are grown up now. I get a tiny bit excited for a trip the night before, but only after my bag is packed. Even if I’m packing a bathing suit to go sit on a beach, the excitement level isn’t that high for me.

Sometimes I feel like I’m missing out by not getting excited in advance. I see excited anticipation in others and wonder what gene I’m missing that I don’t get the same feeling. I know that comparison is the thief of joy, but there is something ironic about joy being the thing you are lacking in your comparison.

99 days. Down to double digits. It seems short. There is still so much to do. And yet, I’m ready. Maybe not excitedly ready, but I’m ready.

Remembering to PAUSE (#OneWord)

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Just before the school year started I decided that I would choose a ‘#OneWord’ for the (school) year, and that it would be PAUSE. The tradition for One Word is to choose it to start the calendar year, but for my final school year I thought it was apropos.

I shared,

“There is a lot I’m going to miss when I leave this job, what I don’t want to do is miss things while I still have time to enjoy them. I’m going to seek out opportunities to take pause in my day and truly experience the things I cherish.”

This came to mind a few times from September to December, but not often enough. Moments where I spent a little extra time in a class, or didn’t just leave the class after one presentation so that I could see the next one. Moments where I sat to chat with staff rather than just sharing a message or asking a question then heading back to my office. Small pauses, meaningful but sparse.

This is my personal reminder to pause a little more often as I head to my end of the school year retirement… what I don’t want to do is miss things while I still have time to enjoy them.