"School's Out Forever"

Well, well, here we are at a brand new stage of life.  My husband is retiring from a long and successful career and it feels like a huge change for both of us.  He's a teacher, so he has four more days of work remaining and then he'll have ... in the words of the old Alice Cooper song, "no more principals and no more class."

This change is huge for him because he has spent the last thirty-five years in the rhythms and routines of school life.  He's used to a good part of the summer off each year, so it might be September before the reality really hits him, as our grandchildren and their parents slip once more into that September to June routine and we ... well, we might just go on a little holiday right about then!

This change feels huge to me also.  All of my life until now has revolved around the school year.  My Dad was a teacher and the biggest joy of my young life was summer holidays, when Dad and Mom both were available for me and my five siblings all day, every day.  When I was in university I began to joke that my whole life until then had centered around school and that the smartest thing for me to do would be to marry a teacher.  A year and a half later, that's exactly what I did!  

So, I set myself up rather nicely for many more years of life with the September-to-June and nine-to-four pattern.  It only intensified during the twenty-two years that our four children were in school and I repeated the patterns of my youth with my own family.   When the last child finally graduated from high school in 2004, my husband continued teaching until now.  Recalling this part of personal history earlier today made me realize that I, too, have known no other pattern in my life, as school has been at the heart of the rhythm of my days since I was little.

I think we're both going to miss that steady career pulse and we might have a little bit of adjustment ahead of us as we gradually adapt to a more relaxed pace and begin to think differently, especially next fall.  Maybe we'll even notice a little tug of nostalgia for a part of life that's finished with forever ... oh, who am I kidding?  I think it's going to be fabulous!!

Here's a shot of what the retiree hopes his retirement days will look like, at least some of the time:

Coco loves to lie along the top of our sun room couches (I swear she's part cat) and she sees no reason why she should move just for our sake.

I'm hoping that there will be lots of this kind of relaxation ahead for my husband, who is a little worn out from thirty-five years in a career that grows more stressful each year and takes more and more dedication and hard work to perform according to his high standards.  I also know that he has many plans for improvements and changes to our yard and house and I'm excited he will finally have the time and, hopefully, more energy to do some of the many things he's been wanting to do since we moved here to our own country mile.

When we bought our country home six years ago, we knew retirement was not too far away for him, and now we've finally reached that stage.  Even though I plan to continue working for some years yet, it's a rite of passage for both of us, but  especially for my husband.  I think I may have to throw him a little party to celebrate.  But that's for another post.