Not Ready to Retire Yet

 On the weekend, I went to a concert. It's been ages since I attended an event like this. Big thanks to Jess Longthorne for writing about buying her own tickets on Facebook a while ago, because that was what inspired me to investigate and go. I went to Casino Rama to watch Boy George and Culture Club.

I had a great time and was just as impressed with the show as Jess.

Did you know that Boy George is 61 years old? He performed for two hours straight, with no opening act and no intermission, and rocked it!

Today is Labour Day and tomorrow will be my 26th year of permanent contract teaching. Several of my contemporaries are retiring this year and/or in the near future. I can officially retire with a full pension in 2026. For the longest time, I didn't even know my retirement date. Now I do. I've known for a long time that I didn't want to retire in 2026 but after some discussion with my husband, I think I've decided on a date I aim to retire by, finally. This is a flexible date, and can change as circumstances change, but it's interesting to realize that I actually have an "end date". (I'm not posting it here in case I change my mind or have to go earlier.)

The thing is, like Boy George, I'm not ready to retire yet. Boy George and Culture Club have been around since 1981. Based on what I saw at Casino Rama, the members of Culture Club still enjoy performing. If I still enjoy teaching as much as Boy George enjoys performing, AND if I'm still good at it, then why not continue? 

Having said that, there's no shame in retiring. In fact, it should be perceived, not as an ending, but as a new chapter in someone's life. Serena Williams, quite possibly the greatest tennis player of all time, recently announced her retirement from the sport. In her piece with Vogue magazine, she calls it a transition or evolution. It's natural to have conflicting emotions about the topic, especially when so much of one's identity is tied up with a job or role. I know that's true for me as a teacher-librarian. Like Serena, I need to have goals or projects waiting in the wings, so that I don't become bored. As I've said often, when I have too much free time on my hands, I get myself in trouble. (Remember when I volunteered to babysit twins?) I have a few ideas in mind (of the four-legged variety, which somewhat terrifies my husband who isn't a pet person, as well as continuing some of my partnerships with post-secondary institutions and volunteer organizations).

Happy Labour Day. To all those (in education or in other jobs) that are getting close to the end of their careers, may your final year(s) be happy ones, so that you can go out on a high note. To those for whom retirement seems very far away, hang in there, and may you be healthy and secure enough to be able to enjoy your retirement years