My Next Chapter

I have entered a new chapter in my life. Retirement.

For those of you that have gone through the transition you know how it challenging it was and what a huge shift it is to make such a huge decision. Listen for me, I don't like the word "retirement" but I have since come to terms with the word and the choice. I am still me, bold, brilliant, energetic, healthy, relevant and kind. I chose doing me because I can and it was time.

For me the prompt to make a change was family circumstances and an opportunity to do more of what I love. That is spending more time with my family, cooking, gardening, reading and traveling. As I age I am more aware of the changing ages of those close to me and all the time that I miss with them because of the demands and responsibilities of working. Don't get me wrong, I was fortunate to have a wonderful job, great salary, and working for and with people that I absolutely adore. But the Universe was calling, no pushing me to make another decision.

I recently traveled to Italy and fell completely in love with the Tuscan country side, Cinque Terre, Rome and Florence. The people were welcoming, the food and sites were amazing. Wanderlust struck and I am hooked. More on that trip in the next post.

Time

Time belongs to no one and the older I become I realize just how true that is. I don't know how much time I have left so I had to get a move on checking off all the things that I have on my bucket list and spend more precious time with my family and friends because special moments matter but they are not promised and you have to be available to capture the moments

Decision Made

What do I do now? The first thing that I did was sleep in! For more than 30 years I have woken up at 5 a.m. or earlier to have more quiet time when I was raising kids, to plan meals, tidy up the house from the night before, etc. But in the last 14 years, I got up early to practice yoga and meditate when I could and off to work I would go to be in my office by 6:00 a.m. to have quiet time at work before the business day began.

My first day free, off to the beach I went and it was fantastic not having to look at work emails or entertain thoughts of what was going on in the office. I truly feel like the team left behind will be able to handle what happens and it truly is not my concern anymore. After the beach the cleaning and organizing phase has set in and boy there were a lot of things undone because I never had the time to do it. I have looked into classes for all my interests as I plan to stay pretty busy in the Fall. I am really looking forward to that. I will visit family very soon and I will have as much time as I want to spend with family.

Today I am feeling good about my decision and l wake every morning grateful that I have the circumstances that I have to choose me and this time. More to come and please share how you faced your transition. Be Bold, Be Brilliant and Be kind. Stay connected.