Hi! I’m Lynn, and I am a teacher. Or at least I was until August of 2010. That’s when I quit, retired, moved on, started over…well, you see that’s precisely the problem. I’m not sure exactly what you would call this thing that I did. What I can tell you is that on August 16th, I made a life changing decision to give up a career I had held for 29 years.
You should know that teaching was my passion. I was an elementary special education teacher, and I can honestly say that with very few exceptions, I loved going to work every single day! I loved my kids, I loved teaching them, I loved my colleagues, I loved the schools where I worked. Even loved my bosses. But as the years rolled on, and the money in special education got really scarce, I was being asked to do more and more and more and more….
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m no whiner. In fact, I’m pretty darned efficient and can juggle a whole bunch of tasks at once. I can get the day’s lessons started, greet each child, take care of some paperwork, answer a phone call, tie a couple of shoes, stop a fight, speak with a concerned parent, and take care of the kid who is about to puke – all within the first five minutes of my day. I’m not above a good challenge. But in August of that year, my school district made some decisions that were going to force me to become a bad teacher…and that was where the tears began. Because of cuts I was only going to be able to teach my students every other day – Really??????? And as we sat on the patio, me crying and worrying aloud about how I was going to be able to do it, my amazing husband, Jeremy, said the fateful words, “Honey, you don’t have to have a job that makes you cry!” So for good or bad, I gave it all up…
And the Voyage Began
I hope you’ll visit back regularly, so I can share with you the good and bad, the ups and downs, the things we’ve learned, the new beginnings, and the things we’d do differently. Cuz you ain’t even gonna believe what happened next…the day that Jeremy was laid off from his job, and we were BOTH out of work! Holy crap….
An Encore Voyage 
My mom and dad are teachers too- they’ve retired but they still do it part-time.
http://runwright.net
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Ahh, I had the sense from your blogging you were further along the path and posting things from the journey! I was offered an “early retirement”, about 2-3 years before I had it in my mind to “early retire”. I had told my boss, since downsizing was constant and things were not changing for the better because of it, that I wouldn’t mind an attractive package, if one were to be available. I knew the finances were OK. But I was at the top of my game and never expected to be offered a walk-out-the-door package. My boss basically said to me – stop being a workaholic, go out and figure out how to live. Live while you still have a chance to live. He was and is a good friend. So I am learning how to live, how to play, and who I am when I’m not working.
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Some days, I shudder when I remember how exhausted I was at all times while I was teaching. You never know how tired you are…until you’re not! And other days, it seems like we’re just getting started, figuring out how to coexist on this journey! Sheez, it’s always somethin!
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I see what you mean! I would call it retirement! You made a wise choice and I hope you also enjoy your journey. That is precisely why I quit my job to retire early. A job that I dearly loved caused me to cry on my way to work. Life’s too short. Who needs that? I’ve never regretted my decision.
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Welcome to the sisterhood! Oh, to have known then what I know now! Life is way to short to spend unhappy and stressed. I just didn’t know it at the time!
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Isn’t that the truth!
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Hi Lynn and Jeremy, I have written about why I ‘retired’ but reading your posts about the changes in your workplace and how it made you cry, reminds me of my wife, who is still working. She’s a legal assistant now for 30 years and the stress (mostly office backstabbers) of the job is killing her. I try to tell her to just quit but she’s really afraid of the future. Maybe I’ll do a post about it and updates when I finally convince her to change her direction in life! Great posts. I’m gonna keep reading. …..Dave.
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Welcome, Dave. I do hope you’ll share our blog with your wife. Giving it all up was scary as hell! And then we went on, making some adjustments, and pretty soon, it wasn’t scary anymore. You know you’re on the right track when you become disinterested in looking back! Now we can’t believe we waited so long! We’re glad you’re here!
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HI Lynn,
I just found you through Donna and Retirement Reflections…it is amazing how smilar our paths are. My husband and I are BOTH retired teachers. We did not max our pensions but left early because teaching was no longer in the best interests of kids or educators. We could no longer do this job that depressed rather than inspired us. In fact, I pressed my husband to leave because it was causing him health issues.
So now we are a few months into our retirement transition. I love reading about your redefinition of your journey…I have started blogging to chronicle our next stage – or third age. I’m so glad to have connected here with you and look forward to reading more!
Nancy
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Hi Nancy, Sorry it took me a while to get back to you. I’ve been letting the Encore Voyage lie fallow for a little while, because I have been sorta busy, well….encoring! And I refuse to let blogging guilt define the way I craft my day. So with Christmas approaching, I guess it will be what it will be! Hopefully you can learn from our voyage, and we from yours! I’m popping over there right now to check you out! Glad we connected! ~ Lynn
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