long walk after work
out on the farm with the boys
we love exploring!
I come home tired at the start of the work week, which almost always starts out in high gear. All day, I look forward to returning home with the dogs and being able to put on a pair of sweatpants and go for a walk with them. More and more, my heart stays right here on this farm even though my mind and body go to work.
I gather Fitz’s leash from the basket by the front door – the only one of my trio who will chase a critter into the woods and completely lose his way back. Boo Radley and Ollie only lose their minds with excitement to get out the door as we prepare to take to the trails my husband keeps cut back just for us. It’s my slicing time today, my 31 minutes between 5:48 and 6:19, just before dinner, and the boys and I step out into the still-chilly damp air and hear the birdsong. Except for the occasional airplane, it’s all we hear other than our own footsteps.
It’s peaceful. So peaceful, in fact, that I could take the rest of the school year and just take walks instead of going to work, where the phones forever ring, the meetings never stop, and even the delightful sounds of laughter are still…..well, noise.
I signed my contract for another year, and by December of this year I’ll know whether I will pursue retirement starting 26-27 or hang in there for another year on the heels of the coming one.
So much is changing in the world of education, and at times it seems overwhelming to keep up. It seems there is no “staying ahead of the curve,” as there used to be.
The more I take long walks and feel the inner joy of the peace it brings just being home, the stronger the chances of retiring next year. I want to read more than I have the time to read as it is now. I want to take long walks with the dogs in the late morning. I want to press plants and decoupage them onto candles, to sew soft flannel rag quilts in light pastel patterns, to visit grandchildren and have lunch with retired friends…….to bake, to work the crossword puzzle every afternoon, and to get started on some writing projects that work leaves no time to enjoy. I want to think less each night about what I’ll wear the next day based on which meetings are on the calendar.
How does one know when it’s time to turn in the keys and sign on the dotted retirement line? If you’re retired, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this one. On one hand, I feel ready – – even past ready. On the other hand, it all seems so final to walk away from a career in education when that has been my life.
I would love for you to share your perspectives with me. What are your best tips and pointers, and your best advice for someone considering taking the leap?
Common Threads 
Oooh, I feel you! I just turned 62 and wonder too, when is it time? How will I know? I tell myself it will be the right time when it is no longer fun- who knows if I will make that call one day for that reason.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I will be checking back to read more of the comments as your question is my question. I’m 61 and mostly worry about having enough money which working provides. Yet, I’ll still receive retirement funds. What about health care? Can I afford to get sick if not working? Using Erika’s adivse, already there have been days that aren’t fun. Like you say, education is ever changing and not sure I am keeping up or even have that desire to keep up. You pose such a great question. I want to return to the restaurant in Boston and instead, sit with you and your husband and not the slicers and ponder this together. For now, just thorugh comments.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh there are other slicers who’d ponder it with you! I think it’s front and center on many people’s minds!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m watching friends around me make the decision to retire, and one thing I’ve heard them say that has resonated deeply with me: Leave while you’re still having fun. I know there are serious financial implications to consider, too, but the idea that we don’t wait until we’re miserable, but still feel a joyful pull toward the work. And I love the list of beautiful, meaningful things that will fill your time. I’m sending you grace as you walk and think about the future.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Noise vs peace.
I had a toxic supervisor who never once stepped into my districts in three years. Clueless is a kind description. It was one of my easiest decisions, so I was able to continue some consulting. Phasing out was almost natural.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Kim,
Stanley goes berserk, too, when he knows we’re going out. Your transition from the walk to questions about when to retire shows how contemplative a walk in the woods can be. I talked w/ an aunt back in Missouri a couple days ago, and the subject of wood walks came up. I miss them so much. I think knowing when to retire is personal and unique to each of us. I do think it’s better to retire when you still enjoy the job and aren’t yet bitter about it. It’s not an easy transition, but fall trips can help moderate the loss.
LikeLiked by 1 person
When I retired, a friend asked “How do you know when it is time?” and I answered, “If you are asking that, it is not time for you, yet.” For me, it was a case of “just knowing.” For a long time I thought I had to have a planned life ahead of me before I retired, but I gave up that thought. And I have discovered that sometimes you have to let go of something before the next “something” is revealed. Your writing here reflects so many of the thoughts I had along the way. I would just say, don’t be afraid of the next steps. Inner peace is the goal.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Are you living in my head? I signed up for one more year because I don’t think I am ready. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever be ready to retire. I am 66 and next year will make an even 40 years of teaching in the parochial school system. I am interested in reading the advice of others, too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh my, reading your post and the comments, I didn’t realize how much closer I am to this topic than I thought. I’ll turn 60 this year and know that I need at least a couple more years to get my youngest out of HS and into uni, then I’m pretty sure it will be time. I appreciate the nudge to share thinking in community. I’ll be back to see what others say.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Kim, the biggest question is whether you can afford your insurance and live off your income. Sad, but true, money really matters. Another thing to consider is what will you do during the free time? Will you volunteer? Will the farm and daily life keep you busy enough? Can you travel more? Since I am just ready to retire again, I am worried already about not having extra income. I tend to spend more money when I have more free time. One other thing to think about is if you think you just can’t do it anymore. After losing Alex, I taught another year and a half. I was disappointed in my administrators. I just didn’t feel like I could act “ok” anymore. That’s when I decided, but it didn’t take me long before I started teaching elsewhere part time. Whatever you decide, good luck!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Kim, I loved that 6th paragraph sweet and detailed list of things you would love to do. Therein lies your answer. You will never stop being a lifelong learner, a reader, a writer, a giver, a teacher, a friend and nana. You will love retirement because you will have time to do all this and more. I’m never bored in retirement, and I don’t believe you will be either.
I knew it was time because I was leaving Bahrain and moving to California, where I would have had to do some annoying paperwork to get my California credential renewed. (I haven’t taught in CA since 1986.) It seemed a good time to end my career, instead of starting another new chapter.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Such a beautiful pondering piece on when to turn the page to a new chapter. I have years ahead of me, and mostly that’s fine by me – I love getting to be in the classroom. There are so many things changing, and changed, and about the change … that they might be the things that one day push me out the door though.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am not the one with the answer here, but I too have been pondering a lot about having time to do while I still can. I retired from my elementary job and became a fulltime coach / mentor / support teacher in the city along with continuing my work as a professor in a graduate school of education at a major university. Every semester, I cut back a bit more. BUT, I want to travel and I want to go to a spa mid week and I get really tired sometimes. I THINK it is nearly time, but I still love what I do……I guess I have not helped you one bit. Perhaps you can help me?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Kim. You have given voice to my own thoughts. So often all I can do is just get home, where my heart always wants to be. I find myself saying “I am tired” too often. I went into education late and am not old enough yet (!) for full retirement benefits. I have to keep going a few more years. I confess that I haven’t looked into the matter like I should…your vision of the simple life, the good life, away from the grind and ever-shifting gears of the educational world sounds like paradise to me.
LikeLiked by 1 person
too much to say! One good thing is to write about it. I spent one March (my last year before retirement) writing a lot about my hopes for retirement, what I would miss… Like you do in your beautiful paragraph listing all the myriad things you would like to do.
For me, I gave it one more year to be sure, and to leave well. (I ended my career as an elementary science teacher so I had closets to clean and notes and PowerPoints to pass on in the hope that the program would continue.)
I felt it was time when I had the energy for my very physically active teaching days (lab, garden, chicken coop, greenhouse, cart… plus walking 2 miles a day, a mile each to and from school.) I had the energy but once I made it home each day I was absolutely done in. so my time for what I wanted to do outside of work became only the weekends. Also, I had trouble discerning speech when there was background noise, and there was always background noise. I began to realize how much I was guessing what a child said to me, and sometimes guessing wrong and getting a bewildered look. So there’s that.
and like many of the folks who responded, there are ways to not completely retire. Me, I volunteer as a reading tutor, and I go back and help weed the school garden. Plus all the things I wanted to do more of!
good luck and enjoy- both the last teaching year(s) and then retirement!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Fran, such a great idea to write about it and start giving away things! Thanks for the great ideas!
LikeLike
I’m not retired, so can’t give you advice from experience, but I can tell you that I enjoyed your writing very much. One section that particularly stood out for me was: “So peaceful, in fact, that I could take the rest of the school year and just take walks instead of going to work, where the phones forever ring, the meetings never stop, and even the delightful sounds of laughter are still…..well, noise.” I love the feeling of contemplation you conveyed in your writing. Even though I don’t really have advice, I will share that I can’t think of anyone I know who was unhappy about making the decision to retire. I can understand that it feels final to “walk away from education”, as you put it. I’d offer you the suggestion that there are lots of other ways to stay involved in education, and that it doesn’t need to be final if you decide you’d rather not be retired.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wish I had good advice, Kim. I’ll be 69 in two week. I plan to teach for 4 more years, which means I will have taught for 50 years and had taught at my present school for 25. Not sure I can do it – but it’s a goal. However, I’m wondering how wise that goal is! And then again, I teach at a school for girls and that is pure JOY!
LikeLiked by 1 person