Wow, it's been forever since I posted here.  Work and life took over the top priority spots in my life after my last post and something had to give, and I wasn't able to post as often as I liked so I had to stop. But now I'm back!  Here we are with our dogs! I really missed talking and listening to all of you.  Looking forward to catching up.

Why do I have time now you might ask?  Well, I'm RETIRED!!!  Yahoo!  December 1 - last day of 29 1/2 years with the same company.  Incredible. I'm still getting used to walking in these new shoes.  Lovin' it though.

I know many of my generation are finishing work at the jobs they've held for many years now - we're a big group so the numbers are probably as big as they have ever been.  The cost of health insurance has been a BIG reason why people I know have put off retirement , but we can only put it off for so long.  Several of my friends from work finished up at the end of this year along with me. Lots of going away parties in December.

Last month was so busy, and my company always shuts down for a week or more at the end of the year, so today (when I should have gone back to work) I'm home and NOT WORKING! I've never missed January 3 at work.  So now it is real.  I'm gone!  But I know I need some kind of schedule. I can't just get up in the morning and wonder what I'll do. I have an art class starting next week for five weeks, I think I'm going to start a step class at the gym, will be volunteering at HOPE Animal Shelter weekly, working on my art and developing a curriculum for a worklife balance series I want to teach.  Does that sound like enough? 

The challenge is to get it all on some kind of schedule so it all gets accomplished. Did I also mention I want to join a women's golf league and my husband and I have taken on caring for the landscaping at my church?  I know - I'm nuts, but that's me. Not sitting around.

So I thought for awhile I'd write here about what I'm learning about being a "retiree." Maybe we can all share what we've learned since some of you have been retired for awhile and have some wisdom to share. And it will be fun to hear from others who have just retired about what they are doing and learning.  I am definitely at the beginning of the learning curve, although I have been planning this for years.  Now that I'm here though....

One of the first things I have learned (and this is why I know I need a schedule) is that a whole day can go by without anything being accomplished! Time goes so fast.  I'll sit down at my computer to check my email in the morning and I look up and it's lunch!  Past lunch!  Will I always feel that I need to accomplish things every day? I don't know, but I can't go from being a major multitasker to nothing.  I want to slow down though because it was too crazy, so I'm paying attention to that.  But I love tasks.  Any suggestions?