Perception is reality, right? For instance, whenever I'm heading to the beach or pool, I scope out the largest whitest woman I can find to position myself next to thinking it will make me look thinner and tanner. Of course, periodically I notice some tiny little thing who is edging up close to me and I know she's applying my theory and I am reminded of the truism - what goes around comes around! Where is all this going?
Well, not only is it about perception, it's about semantics. How you phrase it can make all the difference. I am not a big fan of the word retirement. Based on my educational background and knowledge of breaking words into roots, prefixes and suffixes (you remember learning all that and wondering why!), the word itself sounds like I've been tired and I'm about to get tired again. At least I'll be tired from playing hard! So instead of re-tiring, I have decided I am re-marrying. Donnie and I are about to become a couple again.
I hear people talk about retiring and getting a different job or starting up their own business. That doesn't sound like retirement to me. Retirement means no calendar, clock, watch or schedule. Not answering to anyone else. No shoes. I'm such a rebel :)
Monday, January 31, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Autographs
As a high school principal, I can't even begin to tell you how many times during the course of a day or a week I get asked to sign something. It certainly isn't that I'm famous or my autograph is worth money. Just one more reminder that I'm supposed to be responsible for stuff! Over the years, my standard response each time a student or staff member comes to me and says "Can you sign this for me?" is....costs a dollar. The theory I share with them is that if I got a buck for each time I sign my name, I could take a really nice vacation. Needless to say, I never get those bucks.
Last night Donnie and I took the next step toward our retirement by signing our OFFICIAL paperwork to submit to the retirement system. Looks like my signature is going to produce an excellent vacation after all!
Last night Donnie and I took the next step toward our retirement by signing our OFFICIAL paperwork to submit to the retirement system. Looks like my signature is going to produce an excellent vacation after all!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Amazing Race
True confession time - Donnie and I are Amazing Race junkies. I like to believe that it is all about seeing the interesting places in the world they visit but in the vein of full disclosure, I'm pretty sure it's because when those teams bicker I feel way more functional in my relationships! We'll see, won't we....
Now that 2011 is into high gear it is time to put some things on the calendar. This whole blog idea started out to be about getting emotionally and socially ready to retire. Our first order of business is to make sure that when everyone else is heading back to school, we are heading elsewhere. After all, we've had a first day of school since we were 6 years old. Our schooling is going to look a little different this August!
We aren't too good with travel "plans" so instead Donnie has agreed to join me on our own Amazing Race. We will be loading up the vehicle with some clothes, a cooler, the little grill, a tent and airmattress, and whatever else we think might make our travels cheap, and then get going. We will be taking the 18 states west of Missouri and putting them into some sort of sequential order. We plan to have family and friends who want to "participate" draw out a state name. They will be deciding what random place or thing we have to find in that state. I will use this blog to chronical the journey (and the miles and expenses). We will only know where we are going in the first state on the list until we actually reach our destination, then I'll be calling whoever has the next state to find out where we head next. We are giving ourselves 6 weeks (yes, Max we are leaving you all on your own for that long!) to complete our Race.
My first recommendation to future retirees is this: have some entertainment and your next adventure to dream about. (Since our work schedules have never allowed this kind of time together, please know that if I stop posting our travels in August and September, send a search party to the last state I list and start looking for my body beside the road!).
Now that 2011 is into high gear it is time to put some things on the calendar. This whole blog idea started out to be about getting emotionally and socially ready to retire. Our first order of business is to make sure that when everyone else is heading back to school, we are heading elsewhere. After all, we've had a first day of school since we were 6 years old. Our schooling is going to look a little different this August!
We aren't too good with travel "plans" so instead Donnie has agreed to join me on our own Amazing Race. We will be loading up the vehicle with some clothes, a cooler, the little grill, a tent and airmattress, and whatever else we think might make our travels cheap, and then get going. We will be taking the 18 states west of Missouri and putting them into some sort of sequential order. We plan to have family and friends who want to "participate" draw out a state name. They will be deciding what random place or thing we have to find in that state. I will use this blog to chronical the journey (and the miles and expenses). We will only know where we are going in the first state on the list until we actually reach our destination, then I'll be calling whoever has the next state to find out where we head next. We are giving ourselves 6 weeks (yes, Max we are leaving you all on your own for that long!) to complete our Race.
My first recommendation to future retirees is this: have some entertainment and your next adventure to dream about. (Since our work schedules have never allowed this kind of time together, please know that if I stop posting our travels in August and September, send a search party to the last state I list and start looking for my body beside the road!).
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Snow Days
If you utter the words "Snow Day", everyone can flash back to the simple joy when you were a kid and your mom tells you there's no school. What everyone doesn't know is that teachers have that same thrill when the call comes or we see the cancellation run across the ticker on TV.
When you have a day off, you fill it with a plan, but an unexpected day off is like finding that extra dollar (or even $5) in your pocket. You can give yourself permission to crawl back in bed and fall back asleep, to not get dressed or shower if you don't want, to catch up on what's on the DVR, to play like you are that kid again. It is as if nothing really matters that day and if you don't accomplish a thing, that is acceptable and even celebrated!
Snow days haven't been the same since I took an administrator job. There are still responsibilities and a trip to the school. It is so quiet and I don't do quiet well.
I am excited to think that I'll get "snow days" again - heck, every day can be a snow day if I want it to be. But of course, I don't enjoy the cold enough to stay put when this weather sets in. Donnie and I have already agreed that we will be done with extremes. If it gets in single digits (even wind chills in that range) we will get in the car and keep driving until that is not the case. So I guess as of next school year, I can celebrate "sun days", "rain days", fog days", and any other reason I can invent to make it acceptable to not accomplish anything when I feel like! Nice.
When you have a day off, you fill it with a plan, but an unexpected day off is like finding that extra dollar (or even $5) in your pocket. You can give yourself permission to crawl back in bed and fall back asleep, to not get dressed or shower if you don't want, to catch up on what's on the DVR, to play like you are that kid again. It is as if nothing really matters that day and if you don't accomplish a thing, that is acceptable and even celebrated!
Snow days haven't been the same since I took an administrator job. There are still responsibilities and a trip to the school. It is so quiet and I don't do quiet well.
I am excited to think that I'll get "snow days" again - heck, every day can be a snow day if I want it to be. But of course, I don't enjoy the cold enough to stay put when this weather sets in. Donnie and I have already agreed that we will be done with extremes. If it gets in single digits (even wind chills in that range) we will get in the car and keep driving until that is not the case. So I guess as of next school year, I can celebrate "sun days", "rain days", fog days", and any other reason I can invent to make it acceptable to not accomplish anything when I feel like! Nice.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Identity Theft
I've been told that identify theft comes without warning and can happen without you even knowing it. I understand that if it happens to you, it can be really challenging to repair the damage. My identity theft is completely different - it is happening in front of my face and I offered it up voluntarily! In five months, I will cease being this person. Doubtful that someone will run around pretending to be me - as it turns out, I'm not that cool! But it begs the question "who will I be?". I'm not worrying about damage or complaining, just wondering.
I can't speak to other careers - this is the only one I've ever known - but being an educator isn't a job, it's who we are. If you've ever dined with a teacher who consumes their food in record time before breaking for the conversation, you know what I mean. And our bladders are trained to before school, plan time, and after school. We venture into public and find ourselves wanting to correct and discipline complete strangers. I have literally had conversations with waiters, mammogram techs, and colonoscopy nurses about how they chose their career paths. Those are just the tip of the iceberg and we can't seem to help ourselves. We go out for a nice social evening and every discussion turns into a school topic.
My oldest, Jared, wants to know if I will be less boring when I stop the job. Man I hope so! Maybe I'll recover my former self - the one who could be outrageous and attention seeking. The one who would say whatever was on my mind (no filters - pretty scary!). If I no longer have to be someone's role model, maybe I'll regain my status as a public spectacle - loud and proud! So in coming full circle, maybe it's been the job that stole my identity all these years and I can find my REAL self again. (Did anyone miss that Lisa? I'm not sure Donnie did and I KNOW my kids are going to be pretty shocked and appalled. I have always reveled in the ability to embarrass my children - it is one of the many joys of parenting!)
I can't speak to other careers - this is the only one I've ever known - but being an educator isn't a job, it's who we are. If you've ever dined with a teacher who consumes their food in record time before breaking for the conversation, you know what I mean. And our bladders are trained to before school, plan time, and after school. We venture into public and find ourselves wanting to correct and discipline complete strangers. I have literally had conversations with waiters, mammogram techs, and colonoscopy nurses about how they chose their career paths. Those are just the tip of the iceberg and we can't seem to help ourselves. We go out for a nice social evening and every discussion turns into a school topic.
My oldest, Jared, wants to know if I will be less boring when I stop the job. Man I hope so! Maybe I'll recover my former self - the one who could be outrageous and attention seeking. The one who would say whatever was on my mind (no filters - pretty scary!). If I no longer have to be someone's role model, maybe I'll regain my status as a public spectacle - loud and proud! So in coming full circle, maybe it's been the job that stole my identity all these years and I can find my REAL self again. (Did anyone miss that Lisa? I'm not sure Donnie did and I KNOW my kids are going to be pretty shocked and appalled. I have always reveled in the ability to embarrass my children - it is one of the many joys of parenting!)
Monday, January 3, 2011
Commencement
A group of seniors once asked me why our graduation is called "Commencement Exercises" and I told them it is because the rest of their life is getting ready to commence and they need to get in shape for it.
My senior class of 2011 and I are sharing a moment. Today is the first day of the final semester of high school for us. Although my future is almost as uncertain as theirs, I don't have to worry about those major life decisions that they are facing in the years ahead (careers, marriage, children, where to live, how to afford the things that we THINK will fulfill us and entertain us, etc). The difference is, at 18, they aren't geared to look too far down the line yet. They generally live in this moment and for the most part they know they don't have to have it all figured out - unlike those of us in our 50s. So for now, I'm going to be 18 again (without the tight bod of course!) and revel in today, excited about my impending graduation, and not look too far down the road of unanswered questions.
My senior class of 2011 and I are sharing a moment. Today is the first day of the final semester of high school for us. Although my future is almost as uncertain as theirs, I don't have to worry about those major life decisions that they are facing in the years ahead (careers, marriage, children, where to live, how to afford the things that we THINK will fulfill us and entertain us, etc). The difference is, at 18, they aren't geared to look too far down the line yet. They generally live in this moment and for the most part they know they don't have to have it all figured out - unlike those of us in our 50s. So for now, I'm going to be 18 again (without the tight bod of course!) and revel in today, excited about my impending graduation, and not look too far down the road of unanswered questions.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Three Little Words
It's hard to explain how three little words followed by a question mark can create such anxiety. Since I made the decision to leave the job a few months ago, I can't tell you how many times I've been asked What Comes Next?
As it turns out, Donnie and I have spent our entire lives with no long term plan. Thirty years ago, as a young married couple we moved back to the same rural community where we had met in high school "just for the summer" as we figured out what came next for us and it has evidently been a long summer. I have no regrets about that - it has been a great place to spend the years and raise a family but it was never a plan. Nothing we've ever done has been considered a plan (pst - don't tell our kids - they seem to think we've had it all together over the years :). We looked at what is on the list for Today and what does This Week's Schedule look like, and next thing you know we were starting Another School Year. That is as far down the road as we've ever looked.
Now all of the sudden people think we are supposed to know what the rest of our life is going to look like. The anxiety doesn't come from not knowing. It comes from not having an answer for the question - as educators, we are used to being able to answer questions.
So - I have created the answer. Whenever anyone asks "What Comes Next?" I am offering this. Bailey's in my coffee in the AM, wine with dinner, and I'm going barefoot whenever I want. That's enough of a plan for me.
I am now focusing on a different collection of three words - Happy New Year!
As it turns out, Donnie and I have spent our entire lives with no long term plan. Thirty years ago, as a young married couple we moved back to the same rural community where we had met in high school "just for the summer" as we figured out what came next for us and it has evidently been a long summer. I have no regrets about that - it has been a great place to spend the years and raise a family but it was never a plan. Nothing we've ever done has been considered a plan (pst - don't tell our kids - they seem to think we've had it all together over the years :). We looked at what is on the list for Today and what does This Week's Schedule look like, and next thing you know we were starting Another School Year. That is as far down the road as we've ever looked.
Now all of the sudden people think we are supposed to know what the rest of our life is going to look like. The anxiety doesn't come from not knowing. It comes from not having an answer for the question - as educators, we are used to being able to answer questions.
So - I have created the answer. Whenever anyone asks "What Comes Next?" I am offering this. Bailey's in my coffee in the AM, wine with dinner, and I'm going barefoot whenever I want. That's enough of a plan for me.
I am now focusing on a different collection of three words - Happy New Year!
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