Here it was at last...her last day. As she finished up the final details that were promised to her replacement, she gathered the few items she didn't take home months ago and headed out of the building. It was the last working day before the winter holiday and most everyone was telecommuting. The only two people in the office had been her replacement and herself. He'd left about 30 minutes ago. Regardless, it was not uncommon for her to be the last one out of the building, but somehow today felt different.
She'd been in this position for 6 years, with this employer for 8, and here she was walking out for the last time in complete solitude. No fanfare, no parties, just a quiet walk out of the building into the evening and to her car. Like so many other nights before but not really like any other. She'd thought about how she'd feel when retirement was finally here. And over the last few days, several coworkers were very sweet in expressing how much they would miss her with cards and flowers. She knew she'd miss the camaraderie with these wonderful people. The talks. The lunches. The friendships. But she couldn't get herself to be sad. It just wasn't in her. She tried as her clerk gave her several hugs goodbye. But she just couldn't wipe the smile off her face. (She apologized to her clerk, and they both laughed.)
She'd been waiting for this day for so long, and it was finally here. It's amazing how quickly the responsibility of the job that had monopolized her life since day one had left her. She was finally free. Cheers!
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11 comments
We spend so much time working and putting our all into a job! We sometimes forget who we are. "There's light at the end of the tunnel." we tell ourselves. Some just keep going! Some fail to plan for a here after ...what will I do after I am not here! You have managed to get out before the end of the tunnel! I am glad!
It's too easy to one-more-year yourself until oops, you died waiting to retire...or often a partner dies waiting for you to retire. Too many stories like that. I am glad I managed it too!
@MyNameIsKay Have fun!!! I believe that its wrong to say "YOLO." I believe you live every day! So enjoy them days!! None will be the same!!!
Lucky u
Thanks...it's been fantasized about for a very long time. Lol
@MyNameIsKay lol great
There’s something powerful about a goodbye without fanfare — when the meaning isn’t in balloons or speeches but in the quiet certainty that a chapter has ended on one’s own terms. The way you described her smile, the one she couldn’t quite hide even as others grew emotional, says everything. That shift from responsibility to freedom can happen in a single breath, and you captured that release beautifully. Cheers indeed 😊
Thank you. There's this glow that retirees tend to get as they near the last month or so of work...knowing it's coming. But I was so crazy busy, that I could barely see to the end of each week. I did get accused of having that glow a few weeks before the end. Maybe people saw it, but I didn't feel it until almost the last day.
And I am truly astonished at how fast I got to feeling zero responsibly.
@MyNameIsKay You were carrying so much right up to the end that it makes sense the glow didn’t register until you were almost out the door. That shift into feeling no responsibility happens fast when the weight finally lifts.
I should write about my last day 🤔
I try to see it like this. "There was no party when I started, so why should you celebrate my leaving! Would you party if I got fired?!!? I am so planning to just slip away!!!
@dafocker44 There is something quietly poetic about just disappearing. Lol. I've done that at conferences when the youngins want to keep partying and don't like that I say but I'm 20 years older and need to go to sleep. I say I'm going to the bathroom and never come back!
I dream of what I may do with retirement when and if that day ever comes.
Oh no no no...not ever "if." Definitely "when!" If I ever really get bored, which is what some people apparently get or they don't know what to do with themselves, there's always volunteering for some organization that you feel strongly about. They are always happy you are there to do work, and yet, they don't own your time really.
I just can't imagine that a person wouldn't have a list of all the things that got set aside when they were working too much or raising the kids.
It sounds like you will suit retirement just fine. 🤗🥂
Thanks, Paul. (Nice to see you.) And I think you are right!
Congratulations and best wishes on the next phase of your life! 🤗
The timing of this theme was quite convenient for you. 😀
Thank you. And it really was. And since I had the band width to think on it without interruption of pesky work chores, I could see something coming together without feeling pressed for time. Yay me! 🥳ðŸ¾
The biggest immediate benefit of retirement, in my experience, is getting up when you want to get up!
Bingo! I said I would spend the entire month of January sleeping in. And I've mostly been able to do that, getting up leisurely as I see fit.
Congrats and enjoy...hugs
Thank you. And I'll take the hugs. 🤗
Welcome to the Club! I hope you enjoy retirement as much as I do.
If you visit your daughter at college ... let me know, I can drive in. (April is a good month)
Thank you. I'm having a bit of trouble imagining anyone that has trouble adapting to retirement. The most natural thing I've ever done! Lol.
I'll keep you posted. It would be great to meet you. For the moment, we may go in late February. I want my Honda back, and my daughter wants my Honda gone! Lol. We'll see how leisurely the trip planning is and when we actually end up going.
@MyNameIsKay if you plan on driving from MI to CA in Feb pay close attention to the weather reports. You're not use to driving in snow.
@superbjversion2 I know I'm not. Lol. Did I ever write about my driving trip to Montana a couple of years ago where I got caught in a Fall snow storm in Utah in October? It was so not fun.