Ladies, Welcome To The Club!!!

Back in April, I attended a retirement party for Nancy Mack, a teacher friend.  Yesterday, I attended another retirement party for two more teacher friends, Nancy Cagle and Kathy Conte!  The Retirement Club is growing!!  Whoo Hoo!!  When you combine all their years of teaching, it's over 98 years!!!!  Talk about a ton of knowledge and experience!

All three of these ladies are gifted teachers....each one gave 100+% to their students every single day, loved what they were doing and touched the lives of hundreds of students over the years.  It is a true honor to know each one of them and to acknowledge what a tremendous impact they had in the field of education, on children and on other educators.  Thanks ladies for all you did for sooooo many children, for fellow teachers and for me!  YOU ROCK!

Now, it's time for their "New Adventure"!!!  So ladies, welcome to the club!!! 



You Live On!

You live on in days retired,
In the pupils that you inspired,
You lit the flame they carry high,
Now see it over the world fly.

You live on in parent's hearts,
Together well you did your parts,
To see with growing satisfaction,
Training up this generation.

You live on in student's lives,
Who have become husbands, wives,
Some are parents with children dear,
You have a part, deserve our cheer.

You live on for generations,
What you teach is building nations.
The seed you've been busy sowing,
Will day by day keep on growing.

You live on in memory deep.
Your legacy is what we'll keep.
If every church needs a preacher,
Every person needs a teacher.

You live on in our grateful mind,
How hard it is the right words find.
To thank you for your work done well,
Where it will end, can scarcely tell.

You live on in grateful spirit,
May you rejoice when you hear it,
You're an angel, a shining star,
May your light shine near and far.

-Paul Berchtold



It's Been 100 Days....

Goodness, 100 days of retirement!!!  Where has the time gone these last 100 days?  I am amazed...the older I get the faster time flies by!

Retirement has been an adjustment for me, to be sure.  Having worked somewhere since I was 16 years old, switching gears has been a tad hard.  So here's what retirement is not (thus far):

• Sleeping late- nope I still awaken around 5:00 AM every morning.
• Taking naps- there is no way I can justify naps in the middle of the day! (At least not yet...LOL)
• Getting everything done-just like my working life, things come up and cause me to go into reverse mode or to switch up what I planned to work on.
• Coffee shops- since everyone I know works; no one to sit in the coffee shop with just yet!!
• Organized and Regimented- I am a list writer and planner.  So I still need to get into the groove of sometimes just going with the flow!
• A bad thing- I am amazed at the number of people who look upon retirement as the worst thing you could do???  Geez...it doesn't mean I'm dead!!!   Just that I am choosing to move into new territory.

What is retirement then:

• A new life phase- a chance to catch your breath and find different priorities.
• A time to actually rebond with your grown children- "Mom and Daughter Days", cooking lessons, helping your children move, daily conversations, weekly family meals, celebrating their successes and so much more!
• Finding new outlets- blogging, line dancing, cooking, reading the latest best sellers, cleaning out all the "stuff" one has accumulated over the years, reunion meetings, dinner rides, photography....and learning what's out there!!
• Eating meals on a regular basis.
• Learning how to slow down and be thankful for all the blessings you have.
• A time to regroup and figure out what you want to be when you "grow up"!
• Hard to explain.  Sometimes people think you are suppose to have filled your days with thousands of things to do!!  Now that just doesn't happen right away...it takes time just like anything else.
• Keeping in contact with those you worked with for years and being aware of what's going on in their lives...awards, new babies, marriages, celebrations, challenges.  Just because you retire doesn't mean you want to cut that out of your life.  It's still a part of who you are and being included or sharing information helps maintain that special part of who you are!!
• Not being able to always answer the question "What are you doing with all your time?" or "What did you do today?" with a thrilling answer or totally exciting stories!!

Retirement, for me, is taking one day at a time as I try to find a new paths to take and new skills to grow!!  It's a new season of life and a learning process!

What's On Your Bookshelf?

Reading is another one of my passions and for years I consumed material related to education: new ideas for teaching reading, best practices for classroom instruction, leadership, etc.  Oh, I do love those fiction books written by Anne Rice, Barbara Delinsky, Debbie Macomber and others but the majority of my reading was focused around education. 
Wanting to broaden my scope I decided to purchase a book about retirement...imagine that!!!  I ordered "How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free" by Ernie Zelinski.  I've been reading this book on and off for several days and believe it or not...it is a book everyone should read.  Yes twenty-somethings and over...you should read this book!!!  Why??  you may ask.  Well, it's a book that provides food for thought about our careers, hobbies, personal assessment and more.  Even though it speaks to the subject of retirement, it's also a book geared toward enjoying life to the fullest!!  Many of the ideas can be implemented whether you are retiring, planning for retirement or currently working.  No..it isn't geared toward the financial aspect; it's geared towards all aspects of life: leisure activities, creative pursuits, physical well-being, mental well-being and social support.  Just a good book to get your thoughts going and ways you can enrich your life for now and for later!!
Of course, I am always open to reading suggestions....so if you have a book suggestion I'd be more than happy to hear about it!!!

Happy Reading to All,