My Perception

It's no secret that teaching is a stressful job.  My favorite day of the week is Thursday.  Thursday evening, to be exact.  Thursday evening I relax from the hectic work week with only one day left, and I have my glass of wine with popcorn on the couch in front of the TV to see what interesting situation Olivia Pope has gotten into (Scandal).  It's my "take a deep breath and do something that I like to do" time during the week.  My perception of Retirement is that every day will be Thursday night.

A couple of days ago,  I went into a Hallmark shop.  I rarely visit Hallmark shops.  I didn't realize there were so many interesting items in a Hallmark shop.  I actually took 30 minutes or so and browsed the Hallmark shop looking at all of the cute little gifts.  I never do that.  If I need to pick something up, say, a card - I go in, select within 5 minutes, pay, exit.  It seems like I am always in a hurry to get somewhere or do something.  My perception of Retirement is that every day will be like browsing the Hallmark shop.

It will be interesting to see if Retirement is anything like my perception of it.  Am I going to be able to relax like I do on Thursday evenings?  Am I going to be able to really be on the "no schedule" schedule like those 30 minutes browsing the Hallmark shop?

We will see...

Another Big Step Today

I took another big step towards closing out this major chapter in my life - I cleaned out my car.  Not that I keep my car messy - but it serves as kind of a mini-mobile-office for Association business and teacher paperwork.  It's organized, kind of.  I realized after REALLY cleaning it, that I have 3 briefcases and an abundance of spirals in my car.  The plan is to take all of these files and paperwork to school tomorrow and file everything in my office for Shari, the wonderfully organized math teacher who has taken over my position as President.  Meanwhile, I have a nice clean car with a few items in the glove box and console (not school-related), a Kleenex box and two umbrellas.  In my trunk- my yoga mat and snow scraper.  Oh yes, let's not forget my Dammit Doll.  I guess I will keep that in my car, but I don't intend on using it as much.  At least I hope not.

I did choose a beautiful, sunny day to take this major step.  No matter how happy people think they would be to retire, it's still a major change and a bit on the stressful side.  This beautiful day helped make it not-so-stressful.

I will be officially retired in 34 school days.  (Teachers count everything in school days.)  My brain really does need to start shifting gears at this point.  Right now, one part of my brain that says, "There is so much more I want to do" is fighting with the other part that says, "It's going to be here in 34 days and you need to be ready."

I am definitely keeping my Dammit Doll.

My Massage Addiction

I'm a fan of taking care of yourself.  Especially women.  Especially working mothers.  I was a working mother - still am.  I was one of those "SuperMoms."  Not only did I work full-time, but I made sure that my career did not interfere with the kids' activities, a clean house, and time with the family.  Not an easy task.  Like most working mothers, I came last in my hierarchy of things or people I needed to take care of.  I don't regret putting my kids first for a second.  They grew up to be beautiful people.  Somewhere between spoiling your children and spoiling your grandchildren comes spoiling yourself.  Your kids get married, out on their own, and you  become an empty-nester.  That's when it's time to start spoiling yourself.  I guess that's where I am right now.  One thing I like to spoil myself with are massages.

I have always carried my stress in my neck and shoulders.  That's probably why I am such a fan of massage.  All kinds of massage!  I've tried Swedish, Aromatherapy, Deep Tissue, Acupressure - you name it.  Love them all!  You know you are need of a massage when you can feel and hear the knots in your back, neck and shoulders during the massage!  I think that the Deep Tissue is necessary once in a while, but a true Deep Tissue is probably going to leave you a little sore.  The Swedish and the Aromatherapy are nice relaxing "girls day at the spa" choices once in a while.  I would suggest the acupressure if you like to get massages more often.  They are less expensive and they are good "in and out" massages.

My first trip as a retiree will be a spa vacation with the girls to the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC.  Looking forward to spoiling myself, spending time with my friends, and setting the tone for my retirement.

April in Chicago - I Don't Think So

If you live in Chicago, you know that April in Chicago is not flowers and sunshine.  In April, Chicago will tease you one day with green grass, the hint of emerging daffodils, and the promise of sunbeams.  The next day it will slap you with snow, hail, wind, rain, and freezing temperatures all in one day!  Today is one of those "slap  you" days.  I live in a suburb of Chicago.  Except for Easter and Spring Vacation, April has never been one of my favorite months.  So unpredictable here!  Like many people, my PMA (positive mental attitude) is affected by the climate.  One of my climate-happy places is Arizona.  It's sunny and warm almost every day of the year, it's not humid, rarely rains, and never snows (at least not in the Phoenix area).  Wind?  The few times I have been there during a dust storm, I just stayed inside for a couple of hours.

I know that when I retire I will spend March in Arizona.  March is Spring Training, a great time to be in the Phoenix area.  From the looks of April in Chicago, I may need to be in AZ for most of April as well!  Of course, no one likes to be in Chicago in January and February.  Ah heck!  Might as well be in AZ Jan.- April!  Food for Thought!  As a teacher, I was always forced to travel on the most expensive travel dates - Spring Vacation, Christmas Vacation, Summer, other holidays.  I was never able to take advantage of the cheaper travel dates, so the amount of travel I was able to do was very limited.  I am hoping to change that when I retire.  Fly on a Tuesday?  No Problem!

  

My Retirement Preview Week

Forty-four school days until I am an official retiree!   My decision to retire did not come lightly.  I have been teaching for 33 years, I've been in school for 51 years (I started Kindergarten when I was 4).  Needless to say, I have been in school practically my entire life. So for me, not going to school in August hasn't really begun to sink in yet and I am slightly stressing out about what this whole retirement thing is going to look like.  This past week was my last Spring Vacation and I decided to do a Staycation and preview what retirement might look like for me.

During my preview week, my workouts were in the morning at 9:00 instead of squeezing them in on my way home from work.  It was rather nice to get up in the morning and put on my workout clothes instead of packing them in my gym bag and rushing off to work.  Liking that.  I was able to get up, have some yogurt and granola, and watch the news before leaving for the gym.  After my workouts, I grabbed a cup of coffee with my workout buddy who is also retired.  No place to rush off to.  Different for me, but not a bad different.

Watching the news. Watching the news a couple times a day.  There's a lot of news that you miss when you work full time.  Especially teachers.  Teachers come home from work and work more at home in the evening, so being able to catch up on what's going on in the world is definitely a luxury.

I actually enjoyed a little bit of cooking this week.  Instead of stopping by Mariano's Market and grabbing something to bring home, I cooked a few things from my "Low Calorie Meals" board on Pinterest.  Some of my favorites were Lasagna Rolls and Burrito Bowls.  Don't get me wrong, love Mariano's, but cooking from scratch is always healthier, more cost effective, and it's definitely more fun when you can take your time.

I did a little bit of shopping.  I have been going to the gym a lot more so I thought I would stop and pick up a few more workout tops.  One of my favorite brands for workout attire is Calvin Klein Performance.  I like Calvin Klein Performance because it's more fashionable and you can wear it straight from the gym to the street.  I realize that when I retire, I will most likely be wearing more work out attire.  Afterwards, I made it over to Starbuck's for a Shaken Black Iced Tea (no sugar) and I noticed sitting at the various tables were the various "retiree groups."  Hmmm...

Another thing I did this week was to start my spring cleaning.  I cleaned out a few closets.  I have more to do but I'm not stressing about it because I know that there is always tomorrow.  That was definitely a good feeling.

I am going to muddle through this the best I can.  Not only am I a teacher, but I was also President of my local union for 9 years, negotiated 4 contracts, and served on practically every committee.  Making the transition from Super-Busy Teacher/Union President to Retiree is going to be a challenge, but I'm definitely up for it!  Only one of my close friends is retired so I am more or less out here on my own.  Hopefully my blog will be of use to other retired or soon-to-be-retired readers who (like me) have a lot of energy, like to stay busy,  and want to have a happy retirement.  Maybe we can help each other out.

Check in often.  I promise to keep you updated!