Retirement, or, What To Do With the Rest of My Life?

It's about time!! 

Finally, it's over. It was a long and strange journey with many a winding turn, but I finally made it to the end of one major phase of my life; work. 

I was able to retire from TSA this last Friday, the 14th of June, which was also Flag Day and the Army's Birthday as well as my Retirement Day. 

It was somewhat of a hassle getting to the 14th but, y'know, it was so worth it. First, the manager hassled me when I took a sick day on Thursday, the day before my retirement. They've just started delaying everyone's breaks until after 1500 and also telling us, an hour before our shift ended, that we would have "mandatory" overtime. I was fed up with the whole thing. 

I simply didn't want to work and I had the sick leave available, and I used it. So, the manager scolded me for "just burning up" my sick leave and then told me I'd need a doctor's note when I came back to work. Uh, OK.

Then the supervisor screwed up my last time sheet for my pay. So, on Friday, I had to go back to the checkpoint from the HR office a half mile away to get a corrected copy and then the supervisor had to call a manager to find out if the 'mandatory' overtime I worked on Sunday would be paid at time and a half....because I had taken a sick day the day before, on Saturday. 

Gosh, I really am gonna miss it all.

But I finally finished all my paperwork and then I got my Retirement Certificate in a touching and appropriate ceremony. The woman who was doing my out-processing paperwork slid it over to me and said, "Here, you get this certificate, too."  Aw, c'mon, you'd have shed a tear, too.

But I'm retired. I AM RETIRED. And among all the things that have changed for me now, first among them, is the concept of time.

You see, I usually watched my hours on a weekend jealously. I had X number of hours in each weekend and I felt I had to make sure I used them so that I could rest and prepare for the next week of work. I really resented having any obligations that would take away the time I had to rest. I know this sounds petty and asinine, but I really felt that I needed all those hours to rest up. 

Always hanging over my head was the knowledge that, come that next workday, I'd be at it for five days before my next weekend. It was always there, that sure knowledge that I had yet another work week to get through.

That's over. I don't have any obligations now and can rest up everyday. That is so liberating. I actually just feel better and I don't resent doing chores like I used to. 

For example, today I resolved to mow the lawn. It wasn't a problem because I knew I'd have plenty of time to rest up later on, either today or tomorrow. I could do it and it was just fine. Then, while I was watching TV I got it into my head that a walk would be a good thing to do. And so I did!!

I walked for a bit over a mile. Just for the heck of it. I walked towards the Link. Along the way I passed the 'Boo Radley House', a semi-abandoned house. Strange place. For a while, a couple of older men slept in a tent pitched in the back yard. When I would walk by this place at night I always kept an eye out for Boo Radley. You never know, right?

I got to the intersection of Othello and MLK and walked down to the North end of the station to get this shot. Ah, the Link. What a blessing it was for me. I figure riding the link saved me nearly $1400 a year in gas and parking. Love the Link. Love taking a walk. 

Finally, walking back along MLK I passed the New Holly Housing. It was a beautiful Spring day in Seattle. It was such a nice day it even made this stretch of MLK look good.

But, the bottom line you see, the thing is, I walked!! I took a walk with my camera and, as a treat, bought myself a Hershey Bar with Almonds. Mmmmm

Time is available and I am enjoying using it. It is wonderful not having to worry about returning to work. Every day is Saturday and I am enjoying it.

The other thing that's changed is that I no longer have an obligation to my back. I really appreciate the safeguards that were available to me that allowed me to continue to work while injured. For a while, just getting to work was painful let alone having to be on my feet for all that time. OSHA and TSA allowed me to work with limitations and I appreciated that. 

Consequently, because I was being given this opportunity to keep working, I made it my purpose to not re-injure myself. I practiced safe lifting and watched how much I lifted. I really worked at protecting my back at home and at work.

 Now that I am no longer working, I don't have to worry about my back anymore. I mean, I can try things I wouldn't before because if I reinjure myself, the burden is on me. That's liberating, too!! I actually feel better not having to go to work or worry about my back while at work.

I am looking forward to enjoying my retirement. I am feeling up to the task of finding something to do each day. 

Life is good.