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On Monday at 0645 hrs, I will be retired.

On Monday, at 0645 hrs, I will be offically retired from the Pa. State Capitol Police! After 20 years I do believe its time to move on from here; so I'm going to be looking for a smaller department, and returning to be a vol. firefighter and scuba diving (as well as many other things).

I'm finding this phase of life a wierd experiance. I look around and remmeber what was, the one thing that awes me is a simple tree. When I started, it was just a sapling about three feet high; as I look at it now, 20 or so feet, I think of the growth it had taken.

Memories fill my mind, some of the incidents (good and bad) but how the world felt around me then and now. I remember one Sunday afternoon, it was around Januarty/February and most of the jurisdiction was former farm. The ground was frozen, some snow drifted across the fields, and being winter at two in the afternoon, it was twilight. It was the most serine feeling I ever had.

But, its time to move on. Adventure, and life awaits. :om:
JeffreylobsterBeejDaftChrisDaltheJigsawCinorjerInvincible_summerLucy_BegoodJimyo

Comments

  • lobsterlobster Veteran
    How wonderful. Happy retirement. Are there any Buddhist retreats for security personnel that appeal or is that too weird? :)

    The tree did good.
  • JohnGJohnG Veteran
    Well none that require security :D, but will be working either secuirty, another department or both; but I'm kinda leaning to a more sedate hotel desk job. :coffee:
  • footiamfootiam Veteran
    JohnG said:

    On Monday, at 0645 hrs, I will be offically retired from the Pa. State Capitol Police! After 20 years I do believe its time to move on from here; so I'm going to be looking for a smaller department, and returning to be a vol. firefighter and scuba diving (as well as many other things).

    I'm finding this phase of life a wierd experiance. I look around and remmeber what was, the one thing that awes me is a simple tree. When I started, it was just a sapling about three feet high; as I look at it now, 20 or so feet, I think of the growth it had taken.

    Memories fill my mind, some of the incidents (good and bad) but how the world felt around me then and now. I remember one Sunday afternoon, it was around Januarty/February and most of the jurisdiction was former farm. The ground was frozen, some snow drifted across the fields, and being winter at two in the afternoon, it was twilight. It was the most serine feeling I ever had.

    But, its time to move on. Adventure, and life awaits. :om:

    That's great! Now, you can start to live the life of a man!
  • DaltheJigsawDaltheJigsaw Mountain View Veteran
    Congrats! Hope all goes well in your transition!
  • genkakugenkaku Northampton, Mass. U.S.A. Veteran
    @JohnG -- Besides the superficial celebrations and optimism, I hope you will exercise a little patience. When one third of your life to date has been dedicated to a certain format, it would be surprising if there weren't some sense of loss and uncertainty and confusion. "Everything is brand new" has a nifty ring to it, but in point of fact everything has always been brand new and, if the truth be told, it seems that that newness was overlooked in the past. Now it's in your face. It takes a bit of getting used to no matter how many champagne corks are popped.

    About a year after I retired, I was talking with a financial adviser in hopes of becoming more thrifty and sensible with what little money I had. In the middle of the conversation, he stopped abruptly and asked, "How long have you been retired?" When I tallied it up in my mind and told him, he looked at me and said, "Oh well then, you haven't really gotten your feet under you yet. That takes two or three years."

    My experience is that he was correct. Retirement is like the shifting of a tectonic plate ... it may be small in one sense, but it is simultaneously enormous. There is no talking your way out of it, whether with feel-good nostrums or other inventions. It's not that the whole matter is necessarily a pool of pessimism. But neither is it some giddy world of optimism. "It is," as nitwits who pretend to know what they're talking about say, "what it is." On the one hand, it's no big deal. But, on the other, if it were really no big deal, who would bother to mention that it's no big deal?

    I hope things become as enjoyable as you hope. But I also hope you will exercise a little patience with the sense of uncertainty that is likely to come calling. A little gentle firmness never hurt anyone.

    All the best.
    JohnGInvincible_summerLucy_Begood
  • ZeroZero Veteran
    Happy days - enjoy your adventure.
    Invincible_summerperson
  • BonsaiDougBonsaiDoug Simply, on the path. Veteran
    First off... BIG CONGRATS!

    While it may take a little getting used to, retirement is great. My child-bride and I were fortunate enough to retire at 55; it's now been 11 years. Every day is a Saturday!

    Enjoy!!!
    Lucy_Begood
  • JohnGJohnG Veteran
    Thank you all, I am looking forward to it; although I'm going to be looking for a smaller department to work for, I'm hoping to get closer to the Buddhist path, as well as return to scuba diving and such.

    genkaku, I know what your saying, as the time comes closer, trepidation and some fear of the unknown is starting to permiate; but, I know I have much more to do yet, before going to my next life. I only hope that I can relate this life to the needs of others in the next. :D.
    lobster
  • genkakugenkaku Northampton, Mass. U.S.A. Veteran
    @JohnG -- I have a feeling that any permeating fear may relax its grasp as you release the notion of anything that might be "next."

    Good hunting!
  • VastmindVastmind Memphis, TN Veteran
    There will be an adjustment...true...just like there was when you
    started working......you'll be cool! :)
    Ride out the change......don't forget to enjoy it..
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