I'm taking in the stormy weather we've been having in the Northern California area to stay in to do a little writing. It's been a few days after Christmas and I'm really feeling the sense that my desire to retire in 2025 is literally around the corner!
As I select July 1st as my last day in the office, standard protocol in submitting a retirement/resignation to my employer is generally 3 months. This allows all the paperwork to be processed just in time before I walk out the door. So starting in April I'm letting my director know I'm leaving.
Personally, I still feel the anxiety and wonder if it's the right time, will I make a mistake by retiring too early, all these crazy thoughts start to surface in my head and making me second guess my decision.
But as there is constant rain pouring outside my window, I'm given some calmness that all my preparation has been more than enough. I've crossed all my T's and dotted my I's, and it's really going to be my best foot forward to make the move at this stage in my life.
As for the following, I think I've covered them all, well the ones that I'm aware of.
FINANCES, ✅
SOCIAL ATMOSPHERE, ✅
HEALTH & FITNESS, ✅
HOUSING, ✅
To be honest the only thing that might surprise me is the roller coaster of mentally being prepared. Cross fingers all the networking with previous retirees, watching retirement preparation videos on YouTube, and simply talking to family and friends, sort of "calms" me versus freaking out.
One person told me that I can prepare as much as you want and also holding off one more year before retiring will never establish reassurance. But I know one thing is that I'm embracing the TIME I have for me to take on another chapter or take on something new. Sure, spending time with family and friends more is a given, and traveling will be top of my to do list, i.e. bucket list new destinations will be the fun part. But going it alone might be a tad stressor for me versus thinking independence. That's for another blog. So for now, enjoying the sound of rain outside my window gives me pause to really settle in and hope 2025 will be exciting, comforting, and new for me. I need to change it up !
