To retire or not to retire, spent my life shaped and made by my job, invested years of education, training and commitment to working with others, leading and managing, educating and inspiring after the earlier years as a soldier. ….I enjoyed being a soldier- out in the field (not literally), visiting children in their homes, talking with them, attending meetings for them, with them, advocating for them…..being with them in sometimes truly dreadful circumstances. Then as I moved jobs, more strategic work, more work at a desk, more time managing others and shaping services but still motivated by wanting to make a difference to children’s lives. Yes, those years made and shaped me. I started working with children at age16 but even when I was in hospital having my tonsils out, aged 11, I remember being drawn to the younger children and a nurse commenting on my future work…” You need to work with children,…’. Funny to think that I followed a path laid down, probably at a much younger age having been raised with a large sibling group where we all had to chip in and help with the younger ones. So retirement from a life time of children and working was a daunting thought. Who would I be when I was no longer working in a role that still motivated me all those years later. With grandchildren and positive thinking about all the things I could do, I finally took the plunge and handed in my notice at the grand old age of 61.
The first year has been fine, easier to adjust than I thought…..much easier. I have not missed work at all, possibly because i have people led projects on the go where children still figure. The difference is, I make my own choices about what I do and when. I have mornings when I do not have to rush, when I can sit with the radio on, cup of tea and think, ‘Oh what shall I do today’.. Then, on other days, there is the stimulation and excitement of packing in lots of project work, funding bids, being out meeting with people who are doing similar grass roots community initiatives. I have come to realise people can change their communities, can change their lives and most of the time this will come from grass roots projects and not from statutory services (for whom I once worked) , People together are stronger than they think and it is in community places where warmth, laughter and hope can be found. In many ways, retirement has placed me back where I belong…..and I would not want to return to working life at all…….The strangest thing of all, is it was never as important as I thought it was.