Saturday, May 30, 2026
Today is the last Saturday of the month and I’m joining in with Jenn for her Share 4 Somethings link up…
Something I loved
As my first May not in school, I loved enjoying the weather and soaking up the sun. This is my favorite place to read! I am not using self-tanner right now. I went to Suntan City and cancelled my membership that I had had on freeze. I am not trying to “tan” but have a little natural color (while using sunscreen) from my little pockets of sunshine.
All the walks I can take with EO during the day. I still struggle with leaving him and going to walk alone. I haven’t figured that out, but we walk usually twice a day and my step count is way up since winter.
I loved getting to take the boat out in mid-May!
Something that sustained me
My little social activities – mah jong, or a happy hour or meal out with a friend. I am spending so much more time at home and these little times to be social give me something to look forward to and a little time out. I like to be home in time for dinner with Tom most nights and we eat and watch a show together.
Chatting with my friend Dan!
I don’t always have a cocktail. This one was just the yummy dip with my friend Jessica!
It was so fun to get to hear about Beth’s daughter’s time in Germany!
Lunch with Mason in a garden was such a treat!
This week I tried the trend of soft serve alcohol with another friend named Beth – this was a blueberry margarita. You have to use a spoon. The bartender gave us a sample of the soft serve espresso martini, too. I want to try one other place, but I’m calling this a trend that isn’t for me. I would rather drink a cocktail and have a non-alcoholic tasting ice cream treat.
I usually am the asker/inviter these days and it works well to just meet up with one person because when you start trying to mesh multiple schedules it can be like a math story problem.
Something I’m carrying forward
I am working on a post, but I am carrying forward the adaptation to my retired lifestyle, I suppose. We have now hit the one-year mark which seems impossible.
I walked EO on my school grounds a couple of weeks ago and this week I visited my school to say happy retirement to some old colleagues and to visit my department – the other world language teachers. It was nice to see some people, but I also left with the realization that life goes on, your job goes on, and you aren’t imperative to an organization when it comes right down to it.
I didn’t feel sad. I felt like that was a whole other lifetime ago. I didn’t miss the industrial feel and the hard floors and the muggy humid building and the talk about meetings and initiatives.
I think I struggle more with the great number of life changes that happened all at once in my life.
Something I’m making space for
My motto as a teacher was “people before paper” which meant to drop tasks when I had the opportunity to connect with a student or a colleague. I tend to thrive on checking off tasks and I am a pretty efficient person, so that needed to be a reminder that some tasks could wait.
The way that looks now is having time for family and friends in person, via text, or via a phone chat. I want to keep space in my calendar for spontaneity. I want to be easy and flexible to schedule things with.
It also looks like being present when kids stop by and being present when Tom wants to talk.
What about you? What would you share?
Amy
Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa 
I like how you have made being social a priority. It honestly isn’t much of a priority for me being a pretty big time introvert; I prefer to read about others’ social events than make an effort to be social myself :). Regarding your retirement, I can totally see how teaching seems like a lifetime ago. Once a “new normal” emerges, it’s hard to imagine that the “old normal” was that way for as long as it was. Have a great Saturday!
LikeLike
I think you got all your social needs met subbing! Then, you still had/have a houseful. Now, I am alone from 7:30-almost 6 during the week so I like at least a phone chat.
It really already does! I just couldn’t seem to care about what some of the teachers were talking about – data, test scores, etc.
You too!
LikeLike
“People before paper”– I love that! I too tend to be a task oriented person and have to remind myself that it’s okay to put off that task until later if one of the boys wants to talk or my parents pop in.
LikeLike
Thank you! Right – that’s me, too. I can get super focused on checking things off.
LikeLike
I will never forget going to visit my school just a month after I left. It felt like I had been gone forever and that it was another lifetime ago. I agree that you had so many big life events happen all at once, and that can take time to deal with! Love following along on your retirement journey. 🙂
LikeLike
It’s so weird! It’s like I never existed!
I feel like a broken record but it’s hard to not mention all the changes, you know?
Thank you! Also, people can’t accept that I am a stay at home dog mom now. Why do I need more purpose than that?
LikeLike
Hi Amy!
You were on point when you talked about going back to your workplace after your retirement, I went back twice once after my first retirement and after Covid which was my 2nd retirement, I felt so out of place I worked with this company for 30 years I was a baby when I started and everybody could have cared less, I could feel the jealousy and tension of me being there. Never again! Life does go on!
How I wished we lived closer.
Cheers!
Missy
LikeLike
Yes! It was an out of body surreal experience.
They’ve all moved on. They don’t realize what legends we were.
That would be fun! I don’t think I even know where you live?
LikeLike
Hi! I’m right outside of Chicago in the burbs. I just feel like we would be friends. 💐
Missy
LikeLike
My mom was from Oak Park! We would!
LikeLike
WOW! I did not know that! Oak Park js a neat town. A lot of people that work in the city but don’t want to live there live towards Oak Park. It’s easy to get into. I had a doctor at Oak Park hospital that was the best I’ve ever had. I liked going to the downtown area there to eat!
Missy🌹
LikeLike
I used self tanner last night and it looked great until I slept in it and now I am all patchy. I need to go in the shower. That is good you have your social activities. I love the idea of those soft serve drinks but I don’t think I would actually enjoy them.
LikeLike
Aw shoot! Maybe a second coat?
Thank you!
I have decided the soft serve is not for me. I tried another one last night for $16 and could barely eat any. It was so strong and cold.
LikeLike
You are so good about keeping up with all of these link ups and sharing posts. I love reading them! I’m glad you got to go back to school at the end of the year just to see what you did/did not miss. I know you know you made the right decision, it was just a hard one to make. How are your boys transitioning with their new lives now? You all have had a lot of change in the last 18 months…and it seems as if you’ve come to the other side with a good perspective. You’re the second person to post about those frozen/slushy drinks. I’m going to be on the lookout for them, it seems like something I might like? But then again, it might be too icy and I like my frozen treats to be creamy??
LikeLike
Well, I’m better now that I am retired. I also do them first thing in the morning before I get tired and distracted – lol.
I’m still struggling with the loss of identity as a teacher, I think. But, I almost felt sick being in my school again.
The boys are doing well but they are not great at calling or texting. It’s best when I can ask them things in person!
I have decided the soft serve cocktails are not for me. It’s the consistency of soft serve ice cream but with alcohol. You have to eat it with a spoon. You should try it but I think I am going to stick to drinkable cocktails and regular ice cream!
LikeLike
That would be a good blog topic – how to transition to a new identity. I still identify as a “former teacher” – I think, at this point in time, most people understand if you are not still in the classroom, whether retired or left. For awhile there it was hard to explain why I would leave a profession that, at one time, was incredibly respectable (and still is, it’s just been “opened up” to show the dirty/gross parts that weren’t always there) but now people just kind of nod, like, “I get it”. Anyway, losing my identity as a “mom of children to raise” has been WAY harder for me – I’m tearing up confessing that in writing. Anyway. . .you are good at making people think with the thoughts you write – I appreciate hearing other people’s perspectives on that. My kids aren’t much for “day-to-day” check-ins either, even the one who still lives here – ha! The one is GREAT about calling every week at a certain time and we try incredibly hard to see the others on some kind of “schedule”. Did you listen to Eric Church’s commencement speech? EXCELLENT. I’ve heard it twice now – love what he had to say about keeping in touch with your family and community.
See?? This is why I’m not getting blog posts written – I’d much rather “talk” – hahahaha. Have a great day!!
LikeLike
Totally! I feel like I talk about it in passing a lot and maybe I’m a broken record. It’s weird because people don’t give teachers enough respect while also saying “I could never do that”. So, why is the respect not there?
I am especially nostalgic now in the summer about no kids. Maybe that is it for you, too? I think about how much fun we had every summer. I really miss Mason right now because he hasn’t been home in quite a bit and EO misses him, too. And, getting all four of us – very hard with their work schedules. And, we are in the same town!
No, I heard about it but I should watch it. I will probably cry with my own loss of hometown, too.
I love your long and thoughtful comments!
LikeLike
You’ve really embraced retirement. I know I’m still in a busy season of life but since the kids can drive themselves, I’ve found that sometimes I do have more time on my hands and sometimes I don’t know what to do with myself! I can see where retirement would be more of an adjustment than I realize. I’m constantly amazed at the number of retiree teachers who sub…& they swear how much they love it ..& most just do a couple days a week. We had lots of awesome teachers retire the past couple years and we miss them but appreciate having such great subs.
People before paper is a great motto. I will remember that! Love how you applied it then but also now
LikeLike
I’m trying! It still feels weird to have this time. I think subbing might be boring for me. I’m just not ready to commit to an 8 hour day and EO is still crated. I think I would be a great sub but I might want to talk too much. Lol.
Thank you – the motto helped me.
LikeLike
I think that once I leave this hospital, I will just have to meet up with old co-workers for Happy Hours or lunches. Something about setting foot back in here, after freedom, will not feel right to me. But I could be totally wrong…
LikeLike
Yes, that is probably best. I really haven’t kept in touch with many – kinda sad.
LikeLike
I am enjoying reading about your retirement so much. I have one more year so this will be my last coming up before I retire. It is a weird place to be in this summer as there are things I want to implement but know I have to go back one more year in August and I won’t be able to continue while I work. I hope when I retire that I can just walk away like you as I want to look forward to the last third of my life and not feel like I need to sub to keep busy. You have done a great job relaxing and enjoying your year. My husband is retired already and very happy with his own schedule so it will be an adjustment for both of us in that regard also:) It is hard to feel appreciated at this point as I’m just the elementary teacher who they give all the behavior kids to and the parents just want the young teachers so time for me to move on.
LikeLike
I hope that you can just walk away, too. You will be in a different situation with your husband already retired. You might start asking him what he thinks the days will look like with you both at home. I don’t think it’s a bad idea to start some retirement hobbies this summer. I hope you will feel a great sense of next year of everything being your “last” – last pd, last training videos, etc. I kind of wish I knew going in that last year would be my last. I didn’t know – honestly! I only started thinking about it really after my mom died. I might have jumped the gun but for so many reasons last year seemed a good place to end. I feel like a teacher retirement has more complicated emotions than say a job at a company, you know?
LikeLike