Strange the number of times people have asked me how many days I have left! I keep telling them at my age, I can't afford to be checking off days since I can't get them back. I really am not thinking in terms of being "done", although I confess at the prom last night, I thought "this is my LAST prom" (and that thought brought both a smile and twinge of sadness all wrapped up together). I wonder how many of my former students realize that when I greet them at the door and invade their personal space to welcome them that I am sniffing them for whiffs of alcohol :)
Donnie said the other day that the closer this whole retirement thing gets, the less real it seems. I have flashbacks to starting our careers and getting married and feeling like we were playing at being adults and worried that someone might notice we were faking it! A little like being worried that the bouncer would look too closely at the fake ID as I was trying to be nonchalant while getting myself into that bar before I was 21! I have been out in public a few times lately during the day and realized that "those people" out there look way older than me. Will people think I'm faking retirement too? Rhetorical question - no comments on how I've aged. I just choose not to linger in front of the mirror so I can convince myself how well I've kept my youthful appearance.
I suppose I can fool myself all I want. The truth of the matter is, the countdown is on and blast off is coming soon. To infinity and beyond......
