Well it was Friday afternoon and
suddenly it was about to get real. No more standby's, ID badges,
project deadlines, long commutes, etc. My boss stopped by and said
that I could leave anytime that I wanted. Got a card and cupcakes
from the office as a goodbye. I got the last of my stuff together
and I have to admit that I had butterflies as I sat back in my
cubical one last time and looked around.
No matter how much time you put into
spreadsheets and planning, there is still the unknown when you
retire. Did I save enough? Did I miss some expenses that would bite
me in the behind and melt away what I had put away. But I had always
consoled myself with the fact that I am not going to forget all that
I had learned – worst case scenario it is a sabbatical while we get
our traveling in the 1st 3 years and I get another
position to catch up.
But things would have to be really bad
to do that, I see myself doing some side gigs to help pay for health
care. Sports reporting for sure. And maybe coaching for a school or
even going back to being a referee again.
And it's a milestone event. It's like
getting your drivers license, graduating from high school, getting
married, etc. Someplace where your life changes and in some sense,
there is no going back. So there is that anticipation of an event
and then you cross a threshold to the other side. In some way,
shape, form, or fashion there is a change and life as you experience
it has changed.
But after I said my goodbyes and left,
I treated myself to a victory bagel on the way home and enjoyed the
sunshine during my last commute home. We had a nice little
retirement party at the Red Mule – it was originally planned to be
just Becky and I, but she turned it into a surprise party. It was a
good time with friends and family. It was a crowded venue as it is a
small place.
Joe invited us many months ago to go
with his wife and Ryker on a cruise to the Bahama's. So that seemed
like a good way to start our new venture. We drove down as we also
planned to stay at Hannah campground in a cabin at Jacksonville. We
had stayed there on a vacation when Chelsea lived there.
We entered a slot pool on day 1 at sea.
We did not have the beginners luck that we had on the first cruise.
We put in 20 and got back 16, so we were not high rollers by any
means, but then we did not lose much either.
Joe and his wife Sam had a friend from
Japan that met them on the cruise – her name was Alyssa and she had
her 2 brothers with her as well. Had some drinks with them on the
deck. They work hard but make good money polishing concrete for big
stores and warehouses. They are on the road a lot which is a
drawback. But for 2 guys under 25 – they are pulling in decent
money.
Reminded me of my early days. I was a
telephone subcontractor and was paid well for my age and got to
travel a lot. Being young, making decent money, and traveling a lot
– it was a carefree and easy start to the working world. There
were some lean times when telephone deregulated, but it was fun while
it lasted.
Tried to give them some sage advice, we
shall see how of it sticks. Living beneath your means and not making
rash purchases just because you can. Money isn't everything, but
being careful with money makes life easier. The younger brother
seemed to pay attention so maybe some of it stuck. Made me feel good
when he said that he wished that he had a Dad like me when he was
growing up – he didn't have anyone that gave him that kind of
advice.
We were celebrating a trifecta on the
cruise. It was our 40th anniversary in January, I retired
the Friday before departure, and Joe (our baby) turned 27. Hard to
imagine Joe being that old. But then I cannot imagine being as old
as I am.
We spent a lot of time at the beaches.
Didn't do much touristy stuff like shopping and such. I brought a
book to read at the beach. But maybe read like 5 pages at the beach.
It was just fun watching Ryker, he had a blast. Found some other
kids to play with and went full bore until it was time to go onto the
boat.
The sky was blue and the water was blue
and clear. It was just a pleasant day, so nice there in the sand.
Makes you almost want to move there,
but I imagine that it is expensive to live on an island like that.
Everything except conchs and coconuts have to be imported.
I got to walk at each stop. I have been
saying that being a desk jockey has been partly to blame for my
weight and now I am making an effort to be more active with the extra
time. In Nassau I walked over to a small marina. On the way I
encountered a guy who had mental problem. He was harmless, but every
few minutes made sort of a caw-caw sound. Still I kept my distance –
didn't want him to think that I was another crow or whichever bird he
was imitating. There were 2 women who were gathering sea weed that
had washed up overnight. For some sort of crafts I suppose. Lots of
vendors close by the beach.
Oh Joe bought a conch shell from some
guy on the docks. When he went to bring it back on the ship – it
was confiscated. Said that it smelled fishy and it was against their
policy for anything like that with organic material on the ship. He
was only out $5, but it was a nice shell.
We went to another Island the next day.
Same beautiful white sand beaches. A nice guy from Branson Missouri
let Becky use a beach umbrella since she was burned so badly from the
sun the day before. We have his card and maybe we will visit his
resort some time.
Joe and I went exploring on the paths
on the island. We quickly found that the employee's fly down the
paths away from the beaches. We learned to hug the bushes whenever
we heard a gator coming. Joe noticed chicken tracks a couple of
times. Then in a clearing we spotted a chicken. He was skittish and
did not stick around for a picture. Apparently they are descendants
of escapees. But they have learned the habits of the cruise
passengers. When it was time for everyone to leave, they started to
creep up to the beach and sneak tidbits that folks had left on the
beach or around trashcans. The apex predator on the island is reduced
to the role of scavenger.
Part 2 of our vacation was at Hannah
campground at Jacksonville. I had brought my fishing poles, but I
enjoyed just reading and walking on the beach and did not feel like
fishing at all. Again it was great to just breath sea air and take
in the waves and sky.
