Photo above is from our Malta trip, 2019, wherein our friend Tanya and some pelicans pose in the Maltese evening.

I just realized it’s been two years today since my last day in the office! July 27, 2018 was the last day I had to get up, get dressed up, commute an hour (if lucky), spend eight or nine hours managing people and technology in person (in meetings, mostly), then drive home through stressful traffic. Do some” homework” to follow up on the day’s events or get ready for the next day, and then do it all over again.

Two years. Twenty-four months. Seven hundred thirty one days (2020 is a leap year. As the worst year in modern history, of course it is.). Three point one percent of my entire life. So it’s been a while now that I think of it.

I don’t miss the traffic, the meetings, the deadlines and the endlessness of it all. The things I enjoyed – talking with interesting people, learning, reading and writing – I’ve found ways to continue on my own terms.

On July 28 2018, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Whatever I was thinking, I would have been very wrong. 2019 was pretty much what I expected. Some home improvement projects and LOTS of travel:

• KY (seven times!)
• Hawaii
• NOLA
• Borrego Springs
• Pebble Beach
• Big Bear Lake
• Alaska!
• Lake Hemet
• Oakmont PA golf
• Sicily
• Malta
• Guadaloupe Valle, MX

Wow. I’m tired just looking at that list. We did have some dog tragedies early in 2019 and I’m thankful to be many months away from those.

2020 of course, started out fine with some travel and then two successive shitshows. First was Jan-Feb where we moved my folks from independent living to an assisted living facility, and then in March COVID-19 said “hold my beer” and proceeded to rain down trouble like never seen before. And still doing it.

Retirement has been many things, but it hasn’t been dull. I can’t imagine going back to the office every day. I think I’ll take the remainder of 2020 and rest up so we can have a 2021 more like 2019, if you can follow that logic. We only have a pandemic and an election to get through, so we may very well make it. Fingers crossed…