First Christmas in ER!

[Dog]

Wow...what a difference it makes to not be working this time of year. The past 10 years I haven't had much Christmas spirit and the only reason I bothered putting up the tree was for our daughter's visit home. I really felt as if I had lost a bit of me as I have always loved Christmas.
Yesterday I started feeling the "Christmas spirit" and began digging out the decorations and replacing old tree lights. Have been digging through recipes to prepare for baking and getting excited for preparing for our daughter's visit! She is now stressed and short on time so I want to make this an extra special Christmas.
Tomorrow, DH and I will go to the town Christmas tree lighting and holiday boat parade. Really starting to enjoy this ER thing!

 

[RetiredAndFree]

Congratulations! It is wonderful, isn't it . . . time to bake, time to decorate, time to listen to music, time to attend the many wonderful events this time of year, time to entertain, time to be entertained, and best of all, time to get in and out of stores during the quiet midweek days, and avoid the mall at all costs on the weekends!

 

[pjm-7]

I'm having my first Christmas in ER as well. I have pulled out the few decorations that I still have (did major purging of items a few years back). Did some baking last week.


At this hour I am getting ready to attend boyfriend's corp. Christmas party. Was thinking about all of the office parties that I had to attend over the years. Some good, some well not good. I'll get through the evening. Had to find some make up and holiday attire.

 

[MBAustin]

Congratulations, Dog! Enjoy!!!

 

[6miths]

Yes first ER Christmas here too. Very nice. Nice to have the extra time to get everything just right.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Funny you mention this. This season is much more exciting to me and off been listening to and enjoying Christmas music like when I was a kid. My DW said it's funny to see me as so excited.

Sent from my mobile device so please excuse grammatical errors.

 

[EastWest Gal]

This was supposed to be my first ER Christmas. It got hijacked by the group's need for emergency coverage, thankfully for significantly higher pay and continued benefits.

So I will work and cross fingers for a quiet day. My family will visit the apartment where I stay when on call. We decided to open presents--there will be few anyway, when I'm truly done with work, New Year's Day morning.

We did this last year too. Christmas in a corporate apartment. Very strange.

My present is double pay for the week. One week of work pays one semester of tuition--the last one, actually. That makes it OK. And knowing that when I walk out of the hospital that morning, I'm done.

Next year I will experience the holidays fully. It can 't come soon enough.


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[MichaelB]

Enjoy your first ER Christmas, Dog! Ours has certainly become much more relaxed and enjoyable since I ER'd.

 

[WhoDaresWins]

My first Christmas as a retiree, too (although I left in July at 60 so not exactly an "early retiree"). I am enjoying a leisurely pace of getting out and about mostly on M-F when it is less busy. Yesterday I made a wreath at a local greenhouse workshop. Today I am writing Christmas cards and pulling out decorations. Tomorrow visiting the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh to see the trees and the Precepio followed by a play elsewhere ("Great Expectations").

 

[Chuckanut]

Yesterday I made a wreath at a local greenhouse workshop. Today I am writing Christmas cards and pulling out decorations. Tomorrow visiting the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh to see the trees and the Precepio followed by a play elsewhere ("Great Expectations").

NO! NO! NO!

You are supposed to be bored to death with all of this time on your hands and nothing to do!

I like the idea of making a wreath. Maybe I will do that myself. Congratulations on a good start to retirement

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

NO! NO! NO!

You are supposed to be bored to death with all of this time on your hands and nothing to do!

I like the idea of making a wreath. Maybe I will do that myself. Congratulations on a good start to retirement

Ha! Granted, ER is still very, very new to me, but I haven't found myself bored...not even once. One disturbing thing I am noticing is how incredibly fast time seems to going! Glad I was able to retire early...if I waited until 60 something, I wouldn't be happy about this 'warp time'!

Sent from my mobile device so please excuse grammatical errors.

 

[WhoDaresWins]

NO! NO! NO!

You are supposed to be bored to death with all of this time on your hands and nothing to do!

I like the idea of making a wreath. Maybe I will do that myself. Congratulations on a good start to retirement

Thanks. Making the wreath was fun and it looks great on the iron gate in the front of my house. Once I decided I was retiring, I was in a fever-pitch to leave, and those 8 weeks seemed like eons. I was never worried about being bored as I don't need a lot of activity or constant socialization to be content.

 

[Cassie]

Thanks Dog for starting this thread. It's my first Christmas too and I am so enjoying it...non-stop music, decorating and soon...baking. I always wanted to visit Vegas during this time of year and will leave Monday for 7 nights, it's also my birthday. When working, this was impossible. Looking forward to the Christmas displays at all the hotels.

 

[PERSonalTime]

First Christmas in ER for me too. No decorations though, because I will be going out of town. That's something I would never do in the past, because I might have to work over the holidays or I'd have to get back to work right away. ER is great!!!


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[Ronstar]

First Christmas in ER for DW and I also. And we're behind getting decorations up and shopping done because we have been too busy. This will be the first company Christmas party that I have missed in 40 years.


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[Walt34]

So I will work and cross fingers for a quiet day. My family will visit the apartment where I stay when on call. We decided to open presents--there will be few anyway, when I'm truly done with work, New Year's Day morning.

Thank you for being available. I too worked a lot of Christmases and other holidays so I know the feeling - after a while you don't care about the money, you just want the free time.

Hopefully no one will need to call you. If they do it is worse for whoever needs your expertise.

 

[Meadbh]

This was supposed to be my first ER Christmas. It got hijacked by the group's need for emergency coverage, thankfully for significantly higher pay and continued benefits.

So I will work and cross fingers for a quiet day. My family will visit the apartment where I stay when on call. We decided to open presents--there will be few anyway, when I'm truly done with work, New Year's Day morning.

We did this last year too. Christmas in a corporate apartment. Very strange.

My present is double pay for the week. One week of work pays one semester of tuition--the last one, actually. That makes it OK. And knowing that when I walk out of the hospital that morning, I'm done.

Next year I will experience the holidays fully. It can 't come soon enough.


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Working Christmas is one thing I really do not miss. I probably worked Christmas Day 20 times or more, on a 24 hour shift. I had some extremely busy ones, and when you have only a skeleton staff it can be much worse than a normal call shift. I'm glad that there is an apartment where your family can come in to the hospital to keep you company for at least part of the day. I imagine you will enjoy the New Year much more!

 

[photoguy]

Our first christmas in ER as well. It will be nice to visit relatives without having to fly across the county to spend just a few days with them. Going to drive and take our time visiting.

 

[Dog]

Love seeing the comments and stories from our 2014 retired community.
Outdoor decorations are now up and lights are going up on the tree today. Will head to the mainland and take the train into the city (Seattle) mid-week to admire decorations and have lunch with former co-workers.
DH commented that I seem like the young girl he married that was always excited for Christmas.
It will only be better when he retires in 2016!
Sigh....life is good ?


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