Retirement

On Thursday 15 December I left Pearson after just over 5 years of working there (6 if you count the year before I had Tess).  It was a discreet departure, more a slipping out the door.  I still don't know how I really feel about giving up work: there's a certain amount of relief at no longer rushing everywhere and living by lists to keep me organised but there's also a certain amount of trepidation - how will I now justify my existence, how do I prevent myself from becoming so wrapped up in the children, their school and the microscopic part of the world that we inhabit, that I lose sight of the bigger issues, I lose a sense of perspective and I lose the ability to have an interesting conversation with anyone other than Jules and the kids!  


So what are my plans you may ask?  I plan to explore my creative side through doing craft with the children, cooking and playing the piano - I might even have a go at the guitar and the clarinet as the children learn.  I plan to work on my fitness with regular runs and playing tennis at the club 100 metres from my front door.  And most importantly I plan on spending lots of time with the children, not hurrying them everywhere, not shouting at them because they're doing what I've asked to their timetable rather than mine and having time to really listen to them and help them make their way, as best as possible, through this complicated world that we inhabit.  


Because I haven't yet worked out a good system of keeping meaningful pieces of paper I would like to record here this beautiful poem that a lovely Scottish lady, Irene Penches, who used to work for me wrote for my farewell dinner:

We've gathered here this evening

The reason, sad to tell

Is that Lenka soon will leave us

So we'd like to say farewell

You see, Lenka has decided

It's time to take a break,

Spend more time with her children - 

Go boating on the lake.  

No more meeting after meeting, 

Huge reports day after day.

No more gynormous spreadsheets

Instead, she'll have time to play.  

She'll forget about semesters, 

Endless emails, new websites,

As she drives her lovely children

To the park to fly their kites.  

We know she will be happy

To have some "Me time" at last, 

And soon the office routine

Will be in the distant past.  

Lenka dear, you know we'll miss you,

So we'd simply like to say - 

Enjoy your break, have lots of fun, 

See you again one day.  

For those who like statistics: during my 5 years with Pearson I bought 514 books at an average price of $10.  On Monday I'm joining the local library.