The Countdown Concludes; I'm Retired!

I've left the office for the last time (leaving behind, it suddenly occurs to me, a set of earbuds that were plugged into my computer). Went immediately to have a massage, followed by a manicure, picked up some food and came home. I swept the sidewalk, had some phone conversations, and am watching the news much like any other weeknight.

Don't know when I'll start to really feel retired. Maybe not until the first workday of 2011 when I wake up at 7:30 am, roll over, and go back to sleep.

Counting the Weeks, Days, and Hours

Two weeks, eight days, or 56 hours to go. I've started clearing out my office of stuff to go home and have started passing on books, papers, and files to the editor who is taking over my publications.

Yesterday I paged through my archives of "Best of the West," the office newsletter, which I had kept going back to about 1985. I mostly looked at the pictures of so many people I used to know who had been laid off or had gone on to better things, and the few who had retired and/or died, and the very few who were still with the company. Each of them I gave an issue with their picture in it.

Now I'm starting to say to myself, "The next to last Monday I'll be buying milk on the way in to work." Only two more times I have to fill out that dreadful online timesheet.

I've already written on the paper calendar I use to keep track of my billable hours - the 23d is a half-holiday, the 24th is a full holiday, and as of the 27th, I'm retired!!!!!!