Category: Retirement

Getting ready for retirement

Doing what's right

Integrity

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Retirement gives a person more time to watch and engage with current events.

Big in Canadian news at the moment, is a story of a former Attorney General and her Prime Minister, and the differences in their interpretation of events.

Whether or not you believe her version or his, the message of integrity has undoubtedly resonated with Canadians. She stood up and spoke up for what she felt was right, and Canadians thus far seem to have landed solidly in her camp. (One poll suggests 97% believe the former Attorney General 3% the Prime Minister’s representative)

It got me thinking about integrity. It’s always been important to me and has occasionally found me on the opposite side of someone in authority…a pretty tricky place to be.

What is integrity exactly? Honesty. Strong moral principles. The willingness to stand up for those principles even when it puts you in the line of fire.

One such incident had me advocating hard for someone when she was left afloat after a traumatic event. A union environment takes the idea of “scope” fairly seriously and it certainly wasn’t in my “scope” to find this student the assistance needed. My brain knew it was not my job as an administrative assistant, but at one point my heart decided it WAS my job as a human being. She was left in the water to sink or swim, and I just happened to have a lifeboat.

It was “the right thing to do.”

I think this is what has been resonating with Canadians. They believe the former Attorney General chose to stand by her principles, they believe it was “the right thing to do.”

A quote attributed to Winston Churchill says it all, “You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for  something sometime in your life.”

The former AG and I both respected our places of employment and the rules encompassing those institutions.  Occasionally though, the rules just don’t make sense when held up to the light of your own moral compass. 

I find myself less conflicted these days. Fewer people and ideas are running up against my integrity. 

That said, finances ARE tight…I may be able to overcome my moral principles sufficiently to steal some sugar packets and jam pods from the coffee shop…

Retirement

Roxanne’s Retirement Uniform (Motivation to Change)

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I’m all about planning, it’s the nature of the beast. (“The Beast” in this case being an Administrative Assistant.) It would be no surprise to anyone who knows me to discover I had started planning for retirement sometime in my early forties.

Nonetheless, when an opportunity came to retire from a position, I felt somewhat surprised I qualified for retirement. Me? Planning for retirement was one thing, realizing I was now OLD enough was another thing entirely!

I had the option of saying, “No” and continuing in my position for a while. It was a union position, I was paid well enough and needed more years to get any kind of real pension.

So, why did I say, “Yes!” to retirement?

My brother was diagnosed with cancer last summer and had major surgery. He is mentally disabled and I am guardian to this sweet human.  It is a joy but also entails going to appointments, advocating, sitting by his bedside (holding the puke bucket…) He is turning 75 this year and is starting to fail physically since his hospitalization. He needs me; I am his only family.

My daughter’s Mother-In-Law had recently retired, enjoyed her grandchildren, traveled, went camping and was having a ball. That alone might have motivated me but it was her sudden passing that truly influenced my decision. When she first got sick with an illness contracted out of country, she boldly stated that this wasn’t going to keep her from traveling. I had always admired the woman but the fact that this severe illness wasn’t going to stop her retirement plans made me admire her even more. Sadly, she didn’t recover from that illness, never got to keep traveling, never got to bring out more markers for the grandkids. It could happen to anyone. It could happen to me or you.

Thirdly, my daughter, Mom to three little ones, was planning to apply to medical school and my son and his wife were adding twins to their toddler; it seemed like a good time to change my priorities and become more available to the people in my life.

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I chose to retire October 31st, for one reason only. I could wear pyjamas to work, call it a costume and nobody could fire me. There were a couple of folks who giggled uneasily as they sidestepped out the door, but it was kind of liberating to not care, not even a little bit. Those who I would keep in touch with got the joke, those that didn’t…didn’t.  Along with Pyjama pants, I wore a T-shirt with a picture of me in a housecoat and fluffy slippers holding a cup of coffee. I thought maybe this was what retirement looked like.

It did.

For about a week.

It’s been surprisingly busy, full of adventures, children, self-reflection, and retirement budgeting! Join me on the ride?