Final Countdown to ER

[Dawg52]

Enjoy your last couple of hours. I didn't have a final day 'per se' as I agreed to come in here and there to help out my replacement, so one day the calls just stopped. But I did have a designated retirement lunch cookout so I guess I went through something similar. I just didn't have a final 'this is it' day that brought on nervous feelings.

Hope all goes well with your move and don't forget to pm me the details of our CO vacation.

 

[Moemg]

The stress will soon be followed by that giddy last day of school feeling ! Enjoy ! You are really handling a lot right now but it will get better !

 

[simple girl]

Last day at work and it is so weird. I woke up at 2am out of a dream/nightmare.
......

I was having a great time and then I heard my mother call. I looked up and saw her wave, shout her good-byes then turn and leave. My stomach churned and my heart pounded in my throat, and then I woke up, reliving that memory.
......

I have heartburn and can't understand why I feel so empty. I tell myself it is because I'm going through 3 of the big stress events in one's life. Loss of a loved one (my father), change of jobs (the BIG one), and moving house (tomorrow the movers come). I expect it will get better soon.

I'm no dream expert, but I would interpret it as basically that moment in time represented you stepping away from the only security that you knew (your mother) - despite being excited about the adventure of school, it petrified you at the same time. Retiring appears to be the same type of change (stepping away from your job security, going on the the adventure of FIRE), and so those synapses in your brain are firing back to memories that are similar.

Yeah, you are under some big stress there buddy...even good stress is hard on the body and mind! I agree, it will get better soon, and then you will be sharing lots of FIRE stories that will make the rest of us young dreamers green with envy!

 

[W2R]

I couldn't get back to sleep and ended up getting up at 4:20. I've been in work since 5:30. I have heartburn and can't understand why I feel so empty. I tell myself it is because I'm going through 3 of the big stress events in one's life. Loss of a loved one (my father), change of jobs (the BIG one), and moving house (tomorrow the movers come). I expect it will get better soon.

Yes, you are exactly right. You are going through so much at once and it takes time to adjust.

Retiring is a goal that you have looked forward to for a long time, though. I feel certain that once you have retired and have moved, you will realize that you did the right thing. You are just dealing with a lot of changes at the moment. It is perfectly normal to feel a little ambivalent on your last day. Even I felt a little shook up when I turned in my badge. Still, I wouldn't trade my retirement so far for anything.

 

[Alan]

Enjoy your last couple of hours. I didn't have a final day 'per se' as I agreed to come in here and there to help out my replacement, so one day the calls just stopped. But I did have a designated retirement lunch cookout so I guess I went through something similar. I just didn't have a final 'this is it' day that brought on nervous feelings.

Hope all goes well with your move and don't forget to pm me the details of our CO vacation.

We've just firmed up our dates for the Canada vacation as well. DW's family have now agreed on the dates and her father has said he wants to stay an extra week so DW is booking the house we are staying in on lake Huron and it comes with a motorboat which should be fun.

The stress will soon be followed by that giddy last day of school feeling ! Enjoy ! You are really handling a lot right now but it will get better !

One hour to go and I'm starting to feel a whole load better. I just got back from HR and the pension stuff is almost finalized - should have the packet mailed to me in the next couple of days but the figures look very nice indeed.

I'm no dream expert, but I would interpret it as basically that moment in time represented you stepping away from the only security that you knew (your mother) - despite being excited about the adventure of school, it petrified you at the same time. Retiring appears to be the same type of change (stepping away from your job security, going on the the adventure of FIRE), and so those synapses in your brain are firing back to memories that are similar.

Yeah, you are under some big stress there buddy...even good stress is hard on the body and mind! I agree, it will get better soon, and then you will be sharing lots of FIRE stories that will make the rest of us young dreamers green with envy!

That's about how I interpret the dream as well. It is just so unusual for me to wake up with a pounding heart that I just had to share it. (I decided not to wake DW and tell her about it, otherwise I may have had more than a pounding heart )

Yes, you are exactly right. You are going through so much at once and it takes time to adjust.

Retiring is a goal that you have looked forward to for a long time, though. I feel certain that once you have retired and have moved, you will realize that you did the right thing. You are just dealing with a lot of changes at the moment. It is perfectly normal to feel a little ambivalent on your last day. Even I felt a little shook up when I turned in my badge. Still, I wouldn't trade my retirement so far for anything.

Now that I'm moving onto the next stage I decided to update my Avatar to me when I was much older - the previous one was me throttling my sister at a family wedding.

 

[DangerMouse]

Alan, It's no wonder your blood pressure is up as you have so much going on in your life. You are closing the door on something that has been such a big part of your life. I know you are more than ready to do so, however it is a major adjustment.

Take time to breathe and rejoice in your achievement of FIRINg whilst you are your wife and able to enjoy it.

 

[Moemg]

Your new Avatar looks like a young Paul McCartney !

 

[Stevewc]

Your new Avatar looks like a young Paul McCartney !

I thought something similar. Definitely that time in space.

I think you have already come up with this but: One of my friends that retired just before I did and moved, was able to handle the left over forms by mail. Instead of traveling back and forth. Hope you can work that out too.
I'm into my 4th or 5th week of retirement. I have to admit I have days when I wonder if I did the right thing. But a trick I have learned to use is just think about the worst parts of my old job and it immediately flashes past and I know I did the right thing.
Then my big retirement smile comes back quickly !!!
Steve

 

[Bestwifeever]

Oh, Alan, if you find yourself bored in retirement, you could write your memoirs--I loved the story of your first day of school!

A dear friend and her husband moved to a new state the week her husband retired. I know that psychologically that is stress upon stress (as you noted), but for them it has worked out splendidly--they started new routines immediately without that sense of looking around the former house and thinking about how they'd be at work right then.

Best of luck!!!!

 

[M Paquette]

Last day at work and it is so weird.

Congratulations! Today is likely to be the strangest feeling day of your life (followed by tomorrow, when panic sets in...)

Deep breaths...

 

[RockyMtn]

Alan,

A day filled with emotions. Some good, some bad. Trust that you will be fine and a few weeks from now you'll be wondering what all the fuss was about.

Congratulations and best wishes for your retirement!

 

[Moemg]

We moved to Florida the day after my husband retired . We beat the moving van there so we spent a few nights in a hotel just relaxing . That was a great way to decompress . So when you get to Texas chill out for a few days or at least go out for dinner or order in .

 

[Stevewc]

My guess is that Alan is a free man by this time.
Probably a little stressed but free.
He has so much going on I wonder if he'll have time to check-in with us?
Steve
PS. He's about my age.
I can't help but wonder if like me that hair in the avatar has turned a little different color and if he needs a beanie/skull cap to cover that spot in the back like I do?
One of my aunts told me over the weekend that my bare spot was a solar panel for my pacemaker

 

[freebird5825]

Hang in there, Alan.
Congrats on your freedom.

 

[KB]

Hope today was a good day and you are done with work. I guess you won't have much free time until the move is over, but enjoy your free time when life settles down.

 

[Alan]

Phew, time to do some posting. I left work and had lunch with DW at Noon then we did a bunch more packing. TVs, Computers, dismantled and chucked old computer desk. then we took a run out to Cox Comms to return the cable boxes, came home and took a walk to the coffee shop. Back home, did some packing then DW gave me permission to sit down. I've just had a small glimpse at what great work she has been doing all week.

Your new Avatar looks like a young Paul McCartney !

I may have had the McCartney "look" but missed out on everything else, although, like Paul, I can't read music. (saw him interviewed by Parkinson a few years back and he still hasn't bothered to learn how to read music - his grade teacher once wrote on his report card something along the lines that Paul needed to give up messing about with music and concentrate on educating himself)

I thought something similar. Definitely that time in space.

I think you have already come up with this but: One of my friends that retired just before I did and moved, was able to handle the left over forms by mail. Instead of traveling back and forth. Hope you can work that out too.
I'm into my 4th or 5th week of retirement. I have to admit I have days when I wonder if I did the right thing. But a trick I have learned to use is just think about the worst parts of my old job and it immediately flashes past and I know I did the right thing.
Then my big retirement smile comes back quickly !!!
Steve

The HR lady said today they could handle things by mail She also showed me the figures that they are working on - consolidating 2 pensions into one - and it is much more than I expected if I was understanding it correctly If so, I certainly won't have ANY regrets about retiring.

Oh, Alan, if you find yourself bored in retirement, you could write your memoirs--I loved the story of your first day of school!

A dear friend and her husband moved to a new state the week her husband retired. I know that psychologically that is stress upon stress (as you noted), but for them it has worked out splendidly--they started new routines immediately without that sense of looking around the former house and thinking about how they'd be at work right then.

Best of luck!!!!

Well, thank you. Occasionally (very occasionally) I can string together a few coherent sentences that read quite well.

Congratulations! Today is likely to be the strangest feeling day of your life (followed by tomorrow, when panic sets in...)

Deep breaths...

Still feeling very strange, and have a headache, so took some tablets. Thought about SG's suggestion to do some yoga but we've packed the yoga gear plus the DVD's. Just excuses really

We moved to Florida the day after my husband retired . We beat the moving van there so we spent a few nights in a hotel just relaxing . That was a great way to decompress . So when you get to Texas chill out for a few days or at least go out for dinner or order in .

Great idea, we may well do just that. In fact tomorrow, after the van picks up we are going out with some friends in the afternoon to eat, then spending a night in a hotel (Drury Inn Suites) that boasts free Happy Hour drinks and a hot breakfast. We'll take our time driving over next day and not be too bothered when the furniture arrives.

My guess is that Alan is a free man by this time.
Probably a little stressed but free.
He has so much going on I wonder if he'll have time to check-in with us?
Steve
PS. He's about my age.
I can't help but wonder if like me that hair in the avatar has turned a little different color and if he needs a beanie/skull cap to cover that spot in the back like I do?
One of my aunts told me over the weekend that my bare spot was a solar panel for my pacemaker

Let me assure you that there is no bald spot on my head - there is almost no hair at all. These days I look more like Patrick Stewart than Paul McCartney

I tell folks that my head is a solar panel for my virility I used one of the old jokes on a lady at work today. (she has become a very good friend as we've worked a lot together this last 2 years). There were several of us stood around the coffee pot and I said to her "What screws like a tiger and winks?" "I don't know" she asks. So, of course, I winked at her

 

[Alan]

Hang in there, Alan.
Congrats on your freedom.

Hope today was a good day and you are done with work. I guess you won't have much free time until the move is over, but enjoy your free time when life settles down.

Thanks guys - today was actually pretty good. Lots of folks came around to my office to give very personal praise and say very nice things. It was all very humbling and made me feel even more wobbly inside

Without a doubt I will look back with pride on those folks that I mentored and helped be successful at work much more than any technical accomplishments I achieved.

 

[Stevewc]

Let me assure you that there is no bald spot on my head - there is almost no hair at all. These days I look more like Patrick Stewart than Paul McCartney

I tell folks that my head is a solar panel for my virility I used one of the old jokes on a lady at work today. (she has become a very good friend as we've worked a lot together this last 2 years). There were several of us stood around the coffee pot and I said to her "What screws like a tiger and winks?" "I don't know" she asks. So, of course, I winked at her

Well, I guess it was to late to be fired
You are tha nasty boy (janet jackson song)
I'll have to remember that one.
Steve

 

[bbbamI]

So, of course, I winked at her





Right back at ya......Arrrrrrr.....

 

[Alan]

So, of course, I winked at her





Right back at ya......Arrrrrrr.....

You seem to have an infinite supply of cool pictures and smileys, and know where to find them. Brilliant!!

 

[WhoDaresWins]

Alan, congrats on your retirement! Your new avatar puts me in mind of "Sir Lancelot" from the old comic strip. It is definitely youthful. Next Monday a good friend retires at my work place. She is moving back "home" to Alabama after almost 30 years with much excitement and trepidation. She wants to go beer guzzling at a bar by way of celebration after work. Not many of us think we are up to it.

 

[Stevewc]

Alan, congrats on your retirement! Your new avatar puts me in mind of "Sir Lancelot" from the old comic strip. It is definitely youthful. Next Monday a good friend retires at my work place. She is moving back "home" to Alabama after almost 30 years with much excitement and trepidation. She wants to go beer guzzling at a bar by way of celebration after work. Not many of us think we are up to it.

Since you are in Penn. (right?)
I think the beer of choice should be Yuengling !!!
The oldest brewery in the Nation.
One of my favorite bottled inexpensive beers (Black&Tan).
Of course the traditional lager on tap is good too.
I'm from and in Alabama.
Steve

 

[Alan]

Alan, congrats on your retirement! Your new avatar puts me in mind of "Sir Lancelot" from the old comic strip. It is definitely youthful. Next Monday a good friend retires at my work place. She is moving back "home" to Alabama after almost 30 years with much excitement and trepidation. She wants to go beer guzzling at a bar by way of celebration after work. Not many of us think we are up to it.

Cheers These days I look more like the fattest knight at King Arthur's court - Sir Cumference.
He got that way by eating too much pi

Not many of us think we are up to it.

In that case you may have to rethink your forum name

 

[REWahoo]

Cheers These days I look more like the fattest knight at King Arthur's court - Sir Cumference.
He got that way by eating too much pi

It appears as though you are displaying the first symptoms of post retirement syndrome: uncontrollable giddiness.

 

[WhoDaresWins]

Since you are in Penn. (right?)
I think the beer of choice should be Yuengling !!!
The oldest brewery in the Nation.
One of my favorite bottled inexpensive beers (Black&Tan).
Of course the traditional lager on tap is good too.
I'm from and in Alabama.
Steve

You are right, Steve, Yuengling brand is a very good beer! I have never had much of a palate for beer(after one bottle, starts to taste like soap suds to me) but I also like Penn Pilsner(Pennsylvania Brewing Co. in Pittsburgh) and even Rolling Rock(used to be in Latrobe, now in NJ?...I think). I didn't know that Yuengling is the oldest brewery in the nation. My friend is moving to Dothan and her wide coterie of friends are lamenting her loss already. We have insisted she get internet service immediately so that we can badger her on a daily basis.