As the dust begins to settle...



...when I left, I still had eight weeks of unused sick time...!

 Four weeks ago tomorrow, I decided it was time to make a change. After 14 years, I left the little preschool where I worked and became retired.

In my mind, I thought I would simply switch gears and get to work on catching up on all of  the home tasks that never seemed to get accomplished or, at least, completed! That first Monday, I was up with the birds (and, Roxie, of course)...ready to tackle those looming projects. With a new routine in place, I showered, dressed, put on the coffee and went out with Roxie for a jaunt around the neighborhood. Back at the house, I began working on laundry, cleaning, organizing. I was on a roll!

This went on for several days. And then, I hit a wall. I was so intent on getting things done...I was making headway and accomplishing so much!! I lost all track of task and time. I was pushing myself, somehow feeling that now that I was not 'working', I needed to prove that it was worth it to have me home; to validate my retirement. I now know this is part of the process of transition from job to freedom.

And, it became very apparent that I cannot walk away from 14 years of relentless multi-tasking and smoothly shift to a less demanding schedule overnight! I had to stop...regroup...and give myself permission to slooooow down and take each day, one by one.

For the first time in a very long time, I have slept through the night three nights in a row! Upon my departure from my job, a friend and former co-worker told me that 'in a few weeks, I would begin to sleep through the night again, short term memory would return and my short temper would disapait'. He was right. Finally....there's that light at the end of the tunnel.

Hindsight being 20-20, I find I want to collect photos of the many friends I left behind. Teachers and parents...they were an integral part of my life at the preschool and I need to put them all in little memory book where I can visit them from time to time.

I have a few photos and know it will take some time to gather the others. But I hope to find one for each of the friends that meant so much to me. Especially Yolanda ~ the director that hired me and gave me that opportunity back in 1998. 

So...another project waits for me...but, this project will be a treasured one!