Hurry Up and Wait

If you know me at all, you know I don't like to wait.  Once I make up my mind, I'm ready to go!

I made my decision to accept the VRO package in early January but the official retirement date wasn't until March 31, 2017.  Hurry up and wait!  Not my strong point at all.

Things around the office were pretty cool - there was a large group of people who had made the decision early, like me, and we all kinda bonded together.  One guy that knew but really hadn't talked to a lot stopped by my desk almost every day and we shared news and updates.  As expected, there were a ton of questions and the company set up a special phone line and web site for us with frequently asked questions.  Of course, many of those spawned more questions so as anyone got answers, we would share among the group.  It was really nice to be able to talk to others like me.

The plans that people had varied greatly.  Some people had lots and lots of years but were still in their mid-fifties and planned on finding another job.  Others planned on doing a lot of volunteer work, and others didn't have a plan.  I fell into that last group, unfortunately.  But that's pretty much my life.  I've fallen into every job I've ever had and was really lucky to love them.  

I had no grand plan when I was younger (ok, when I was about 10-ish, my goal was to be an executive secretary.  Really?)  I landed a job right out of high school and stayed there for 35 years - holding many positions during that time.  When I was 54, I decided that it was time to leave when the company got bought by a psychopath and went from public to private.  And I landed at the same company as my former boss and several co-workers - as a QA Lead for the technology department of a large grocery retailer.  Ended up as a QA Manager - working for the same wonderful Director that I worked for in my other company.  But I never planned to be a software tester or manager much less a retired QA manager.  Sure do envy those people that had plans for life after retirement.

Now to figure out what my "plan" would be...

Retirement for Me!