I told my employees and coworkers that I would be retiring in June. It was an emotional day. Most people were very happy for us and some just worried about themselves. Overall it went well and I am glad it is done. Kind of scary though -can't turn back now!
Waggin Tails said
06:47 PM Mar 28, 2011
Congratulations. Yes, once the announcement is made public, there is little room to turn back. But would you when the greatest adventure is ahead of you. Best wishes to your new life. Hope to see you on the road some day. PS, the last day is the toughest.
Penny and Paul said
06:51 PM Mar 28, 2011
Congratulations! I hope to be making that same announcement within the next year, and I already get butterflies in my stomach every time I think of it. I'm very happy for you!
Penny
Postalpair said
06:59 PM Mar 28, 2011
Congrats!!! And Welcome to the new chapter in your life. You will find yourself counting the days until you are officially retired. It is wonderful.....yes, you may be a bit scared now, but just think of all the wonderful adventures you are going to have. I always tell my kids not to look back, but to look forward to all the great things to come!!!
Make sure you come back and let us know how things to when you actually make it thru your last day!!!
Gypsy Turtle 2 said
07:05 PM Mar 28, 2011
Congratulations! That's a big step. Now it's out of the way and you can concentrate on actually leaving Hope the next couple months go really quickly for you.
Pinon said
09:23 PM Mar 28, 2011
Yay! Exciting news. The die is cast.
Heidi
The Crumps said
08:53 AM Mar 29, 2011
Congratulations! Retirement is the best thing in the world. It's a little hard to get used to not having the daily obligations, but when I get concerned I take a nap and it all goes away.
The hard part I found about announcing retirement is the guilt trip everyone puts on you. How can we do without you? No one can do your job the way you do! Etc., etc., etc. I just smiled and told them no one is indespensible. They've managed. I gave a few people my cell phone number in case they needed something only I would know and guess what? - no one has called! Hallelujah!
Tim & Robyn said
09:30 AM Mar 29, 2011
I made my retirement announcement 2 months ahead of time.... it was for health reasons in my case... and my employer (IBM) had gone out of their way to make my life as easy as possible during the year of my wife's illness, so I felt obligated to give them as much notice as possible so that they could plan for my departure.
My job was basically a 24X7 technical support role for IBM clients who had outsourced computer support to IBM, and I owe a great debt of gratitude to my management for supporting me and especially to my immediate teammates who stepped up to cover for me when I couldn't be available when I should have been under normal circumstances.
I worked for IBM for only 5 years, but I can tell you I have never worked with a greater bunch of people, who were more dedicated to their cusomers. success, at the expense of their own personal lives if need be.
53 Merc said
10:58 AM Mar 29, 2011
Great news on the plan. You will come to understand that your past insanity will come to a rapid stop, and you will begin to wonder "now what do I do". Having a 3 month phaseout is a good idea, even though it has been longer since you began planning. Just be aware you may have some blue days where you miss the "busyness" of your days. When that happens, start planning where you go next. Makes it all worthwhile.
In my case, I just kinda quit looking for work. Being a safety consultant and procedure writer for the Oil and Gas world is a niche and as such the clientele is rather limited. I turned down work because of location. I refused to go to Equatorial Guinea, Syria, Libya and Oman. Since then the calls have been less and less. God must have been looking out for me, because a couple of the jobs would have put me there over the last few months. The last job was in Yemen. One of those things where you put such a price on it that if you do go, it will help the bottom line. When they said come on, I was trapped. Of course, that was a year and a half back since I returned from there, so not bad at all.
Would I go to that area of the world now? I think not.
Again, congrats and keep smilin'.
jb said
12:34 PM Mar 29, 2011
The Crumps wrote:
The hard part I found about announcing retirement is the guilt trip everyone puts on you. How can we do without you? No one can do your job the way you do! Etc., etc., etc. I just smiled and told them no one is indespensible. They've managed. I gave a few people my cell phone number in case they needed something only I would know and guess what? - no one has called! Hallelujah!
Man you are not kidding- good to know that no one will call if I give out the number. I am getting a lot of those comments. I just keep saying "you will be fine"... and they will. I have been lucky to work for 22 years with really great people. I will miss them but I am ready for something new.
PS, the last day is the toughest.
Congratulations! I hope to be making that same announcement within the next year, and I already get butterflies in my stomach every time I think of it. I'm very happy for you!
Penny
Congrats!!! And Welcome to the new chapter in your life. You will find yourself counting the days until you are officially retired. It is wonderful.....yes, you may be a bit scared now, but just think of all the wonderful adventures you are going to have. I always tell my kids not to look back, but to look forward to all the great things to come!!!
Make sure you come back and let us know how things to when you actually make it thru your last day!!!
Congratulations! That's a big step. Now it's out of the way and you can concentrate on actually leaving
Hope the next couple months go really quickly for you.
Yay! Exciting news. The die is cast.
Heidi
Congratulations! Retirement is the best thing in the world. It's a little hard to get used to not having the daily obligations, but when I get concerned I take a nap and it all goes away.
The hard part I found about announcing retirement is the guilt trip everyone puts on you. How can we do without you? No one can do your job the way you do! Etc., etc., etc. I just smiled and told them no one is indespensible. They've managed. I gave a few people my cell phone number in case they needed something only I would know and guess what? - no one has called! Hallelujah!
I made my retirement announcement 2 months ahead of time.... it was for health reasons in my case... and my employer (IBM) had gone out of their way to make my life as easy as possible during the year of my wife's illness, so I felt obligated to give them as much notice as possible so that they could plan for my departure.
My job was basically a 24X7 technical support role for IBM clients who had outsourced computer support to IBM, and I owe a great debt of gratitude to my management for supporting me and especially to my immediate teammates who stepped up to cover for me when I couldn't be available when I should have been under normal circumstances.
I worked for IBM for only 5 years, but I can tell you I have never worked with a greater bunch of people, who were more dedicated to their cusomers. success, at the expense of their own personal lives if need be.
In my case, I just kinda quit looking for work. Being a safety consultant and procedure writer for the Oil and Gas world is a niche and as such the clientele is rather limited. I turned down work because of location. I refused to go to Equatorial Guinea, Syria, Libya and Oman. Since then the calls have been less and less. God must have been looking out for me, because a couple of the jobs would have put me there over the last few months. The last job was in Yemen. One of those things where you put such a price on it that if you do go, it will help the bottom line. When they said come on, I was trapped. Of course, that was a year and a half back since I returned from there, so not bad at all.
Would I go to that area of the world now? I think not.
Again, congrats and keep smilin'.
Man you are not kidding- good to know that no one will call if I give out the number. I am getting a lot of those comments. I just keep saying "you will be fine"... and they will. I have been lucky to work for 22 years with really great people. I will miss them but I am ready for something new.
Thanks for the nice comments everyone.