It’s been almost a month since I retired. And it’s been fantastic! After my last day of work, Debbie and I flew to Texas to visit our youngest son, daughter-in-law and soon-coming grandson. We had a fantastic time exploring areas around Austin and Waco and we just had a lot of fun being with our kids. Due to issues with the airlines, our seven-day trip extended to a ten-day trip. We wouldn’t have been able to pivot so easily if I were working. The week we returned, we spent a couple of days with our friends who had moved to New Zealand several years ago. They were visiting family for only a week and we would have missed that precious opportunity had I been working. Over the past few weeks, Debbie and I also spent time with a couple of our kids and their spouses.

Frankly, that’s the big takeaway regarding retirement — more time, especially with people. I’ve been enjoying more time with Debbie, with our kids, and with friends. I’ve been enjoying going to the coffee shop in the morning and talking with people and then taking a long peaceful walk to think and pray.

And as I mentioned in my last post, I’m not bored. I’ve been able to work on projects I left untouched for far too long. I’m working new disciplines into my daily routine like the aforementioned morning walks, reading through Psalms, trying to learn Spanish, and writing. And there are many more things I’m hoping to do.

Some of this will change, though. Even though I retired early from the school district, I knew I would still need to work. I had a few criteria for any job I would accept. It had to allow me to work with people. It had to be close to home. It had to be low-stress. And it had to have a healthy leadership environment. I’ve been offered a part-time job as an afterschool STEM instructor. While it’s not as close to home as I would have liked, it seems to tick off the other three criteria. So next week I start a new job!

A lot of change for just a month. And it seems more to come in the near future.