It’s been a little over a month since I retired, so I thought it would be a good time for a bit of omphaloskepsis. I’m still coming to terms with the situation, and the concept still seems weird as all get out, but the reality hasn’t hit. It’s more like my summers used to be when I was a teacher, so it hasn’t felt that different. It’s been more like an extended vacation. Since it’s now post-July 4th the Back-to-School sales have already started. I’m slowly relinquishing the anxiety attacks that used to hit when I saw those, wondering if we were going to get everything done over the summer in time. It had gotten so bad that just driving by a school – any school – induced panic.
I think it will really hit home first when I get my first retirement check next week, then when everyone is actually heading back to school, and I’m not. I did get a formal letter from the Department of Education just this morning with a certificate marginally suitable for framing.
Speaking of anxiety attacks, I’ve been having nightmares about my former job. These usually take several forms. For some reason I have to go back to the office to do something and I find that the new guy has done something absurd like pulling out all of the network cabling. Or, people from the district show up at my home, somehow not letting me escape. Then there are variations. Glynda told me that nightmares like this followed her retirement for months. Oh joy.
I actually did get a call about a file from the office. It was one they couldn’t find (although I had clearly shown them where it was before I left.) When I tried to log into my district Google Docs to retrieve it for them, my password had either been changed or the account deleted. Oh well. I guess they are completely out of luck, and I’m off the hook. It’s not unexpected, but it seems a bit…abrupt. So, if you’re a friend from the district reading this, don’t try sending anything to my school e-mail account – I won’t get it.
Apart from those things about which I’ve blogged previously, here’s what else has been happening…