Time is short in The countdown begins

I have finally made the decision to retire. As of 9/8/17 to be exact. I don’t know how I feel about that for sure yet. I DO know I am getting tired of the things going on at my office and there are times I just want to scream. Or cry. Or both. Perhaps that’s a sign?

My husband has wanted to do some traveling for a while now and I was always too busy working. I was reading a couple of diaries of people going through some pretty heavy life-changing stuff and I suddenly realized that life is way too short. I will be 67 in December. It’s time. I need to spend more time enjoying the season(s) of my life that I have left.

So, we’re taking a trip once I leave work. My husband has never been to the Smoky Mountains. So I’m planning a trip to the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area for us. I have fond memories of it from when I went several times as a teenager with my folks. I think he’ll like it. We (I) just need some time to breathe. Relax. Realize that there is much more to life than my job.

We have also been talking about selling our house, moving back to our hometown and getting an apartment. I just want something small and simple. Two bedrooms, two baths. No outside maintenance. Hire someone to come in and clean every month or so. I just want to get up, take off and not worry about things that have to be done when you own a home.

I’m not much of a sentimentalist. I have no ties to this house, really. We had no children together and his daughter, grandkids and great-grandkids all live in the southwest. If we moved back home we could visit with them more often. The little family I have left is scattered. Dad died in ‘98. One sister still lives in Ohio and the other in TN. I have heard from neither of them in years. Mom is 92 and is in a wheelchair. I talk to her on a weekly basis but it’s hard because her memory is going and it’s hard for her to speak. I never had children.

In the meantime, I will finish out my 29 working days/40 actual days doing what I have always done. Work diligently. Doing the best job I can. Helping my peers when they have questions. And dealing with the anxiety of the decison. (It hasn’t yet reached joy or excitement!)