And so it begins!

For those of you who wandered here based on the title (or those of you who are scared off by the title), it isn't what you are thinking.  There will be no references to female biological changes here!  Donnie and I have made the decision to retire from our careers as public school educators at the end of this school year and so the change begins.

As we "ready" ourselves for what comes next, it occurred to me that like many people, we did what we needed to do to prepare ourselves financially for retirement.  We paid off things, we met with financial planners and got things in order, and we determined we could make this work.  HOWEVER, we never took a minute to prepare ourselves for the emotional and social changes that come with this decision so I have decided to chronical the coming year as we make this transition.  I assumed it could be entertaining for friends and family as well as potentially educational for others - after all, we've spent our entire lives as educators!

So without further adieu - here goes nothing.