Part time to no time

[bosco]

Congratulations, Martha and best of fortune!!!

 

[BarbaraAnne]

All the best, Martha!

Hope you and Greg have a wonderful adventures together!

 

[youbet]

Congratulations Martha! We are so very pleased for you. Hey, how about a few days in the BWCAW or Quetico next summer? Or at least lunch while we're passing through your town on one of our annual forays to northern Minnesota or Canada.

Ref the part time to no time....... Megacorp paid me full time while I worked part time for my last six months. Sounds good, but by the time it was over I was really ready to go to zero pay and zero time. ER is very, very good.

Enjoy Mexico!

 

[Sheryl]

Congratulations Martha!

It's been educational hearing/watching you work through this process over the past couple years. You're a great role model.

I hope you stick around the forum to keep us all motivated!

Have a great time under the covers, and in Mexico

Sheryl

 

[Toejam]

Dear Martha:

Congratulations! I consider you to be one of the Great Oracles* of this Board. Thank You! Wishing you and Greg many fun and happy times ahead in your retirement.

*Oracle (definition #8 in my dictionary): A person who delivers authoratitive, wise, or highly regarded and influential pronouncements.

Toejam

 

[Dawg52]

Um, not your problem, right?

Practice with me:

"Failure to plan on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part."

True, but it would be hard to just walk away. I have been promised an extra bonus as a going away 'pat on the back', but it still chaps me. Hopefully we will have someone in next month.

 

[Martha]

I recall that the question "When is Martha going to fully retire?" has come up several times in the year+ that I have been on this board.

Yes, it was a tortuous process. I tend to be a worrier so the decision did not come easy. I am not at the jump up and down and cheer stage yet, but I'll bet I will be once we start driving to warmer weather and sunshine.


Thanks all for the kind words!

 

[Martha]

So is moving eventually on your adgenda?

I see the house prices in the twin cities are continuing to decline. . .

 

[audreyh1]

Congratulations!!!!!!

Yes it's funny how work can become intolerable once you are FI. There are so many better things to do when you don't have to earn a living!

I'm glad you discovered that you didn't need more big bucks coming in to enjoy your leisure.

Audrey

 

[Dreamer]

Congratulations Martha! It could not happen to a nicer person. Enjoy your life and keep posting when you have the time.

 

[REWahoo]

Please reassure us that you won't become a stranger! Some will miss your excellent legal contributions if you do, I suppose. But I think I speak for many when I say that I have long appreciated and would truly miss your reasoned and compassionate contributions in other areas as well!

I hope you stick around the forum to keep us all motivated!

Enjoy your life and keep posting when you have the time.

Hey, Martha said she was retiring, not backing away from posting.

With Greg doing all the cooking, cleaning and RV driving, Martha will have a lot more time to devote to helping out here...maybe even starting a new board. Rich has "Health and Early Retirement", Martha could head up "Law and Early Retirement". Why not?

 

[73ss454]

Good for you Martha, now you'll have more time to post.

 

[bruce1]

Congratulations and have fun I will follow soon.

Bruce

 

[LEX]

Martha:

Being a lawyer as well, and ER'd, might I suggest (and I am sure you already are) doing some pro-bono to keep mentally active and for the sense of contribution that drives most of us and took us to the level wherein we could set our own path forward. There will always be the need for being needed.

 

[KB]

Congratulations, Martha.

Enjoy your free time. Taking the first month to do what you want, then leaving on a trip sounds like the perfect way to start your retirement. Enjoy !!

 

[Jay_Gatsby]

Martha:

Being a lawyer as well, and ER'd, might I suggest (and I am sure you already are) doing some pro-bono to keep mentally active and for the sense of contribution that drives most of us and took us to the level wherein we could set our own path forward. There will always be the need for being needed.

I agree with Lex. Although I'm not yet a retired attorney (give me another 10 years or so), my father is a "retired" physician. After about 6 months of puttering around the house, he took a job with the State of Florida reviewing medical files for disability applicants. He makes the short drive to a local state office a couple of days a week, but has the ability to blow things off for a month at a time if he wants. Much of what he has to do requires him understand concepts and conditions he hasn't thought about for over 40 years. He'll be the first to say that his mind is getting sharper every day he goes to work, and he actually enjoys not having to deal with patients directly, insurance companies, billing, payroll, and most of all -- egotistical surgeons.

My father's retirement sounds like an ideal one. Almost pure mental stimulation and no bull$hit. If his health holds up (he's fighting cancer right now, but it's going well), I expect he'll live to a ripe old age with all his faculties intact. His father (my grandfather), is 96 and officially "retired" in 1969! He too has worked part-time every once in a while to keep his mind sharp and contribute a little to people who need his advice. As for his health, just the other day he was bored with his apartment, and decided to rearrange all of the furniture ... by himself!

 

[Tawney]

So, a lot of lawyers here. DH and I are both lawyers. He plans a part time practice in a year or so, but I need to detox. I worked part time bouts when our children were babies. It wasn't easy, but it kept me in the 401k and that is paying off now!

 

[uncledrz]

Martha
Glad to hear that you're moving from PT to no time. Travel to Mexico sounds great -- Mexico when its cold up north and up north when its hot in the south seems like an idea worth a try!!

I too am moving into no time. Would like to set my date to close up the office at the end of September--we'll see how it goes.

Keep us posted about your Mexico travels.
Tio z

 

[flipstress]

Congrats, Martha!

I wish you many happy days in this new chapter of your life!

 

[donheff]

Go for it Martha. I just read your post to my DW. I think she is about two years behind you. She has been the practice leader in her office (DC office of a big Chicago firm) for several years. She has dropped that for next year and, while still full time, she has been working from home a couple of days a week. Like you she is getting less patient with the small things and likes being at home. She is now talking about dropping to part time in a year and - maybe - pulling the plug in two.

 

[Martha]

Don, despite the issues involved in working part time, all in all it was a good way to go. Slowly phasing out helped me get used to the idea of not working at all and helped me transistion clients. Plus, I was able to focus on the work I liked best and gave away most of the rest. But after 2 years of part time I was more than ready to leave.

Lex and Jay, my plans for volunteer work involve upping the time I already spend in lobbying on issues concerning health care. I helped in efforts to preserve Minnesota Care, a health insurance option for low income people in Minnesota who are not eligible for medicaid.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Lex and Jay, my plans for volunteer work involve upping the time I already spend in lobbying on issues concerning health care. I helped in efforts to preserve Minnesota Care, a health insurance option for low income people in Minnesota who are not eligible for medicaid.

For your reading pleasure:

Physicians for a National Health Program
National Coalition on Health Care
National Health Care Disparities Report

 

[samclem]

Martha,

I'm a little late to the party here, but let me pile on congratulations to those already offered. It sounds like you've got an exciting, rewarding path ahead.

As some have mentioned before, ER isn't "checking out" of life. By jumping out of the "working world" while we still have the ability and desire to contribute in other areas, I think the net benefit to society of an ER is often positive. Plus, it frees up a rung on the ladder for those young climbers!

Best wishes, and thanks for all the help you continue to give here.

 

[WanderALot]

Martha,

I'm late with this as well, but just wanted to throw in my congratulations!

I really enjoy reading your posts so I'm hoping that your long awaited retirement doesn't slow down the posting frequency!

BTW, you're the FIRST person I thought of when I read this:

http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/12/05/health.rankings.ap/index.html?section=cnn_latest

 

[Ginger]

Martha,

I am late posting too. Congratulations.... May all your years in retirement be happy, healthy and fun!!!