My retirement year - October

For the past 37 years, autumn meant "back to school". If we managed to see its famed foliage, it was a quick weekend trip to the Poconos, or High Point, or Sunrise Mountain's overlook at Stokes. But now, it occurred to us, that we could travel at this fabulous fall time of year. Though we had not yet closed on the house, we decided to try to relax a little by heading north to Nova Scotia, to see our friends Scott and Stef who had moved there. Wow - a non-summer visit! So off we went. Two days up - with a stop in Maine. Maine, with its beautiful shades of red, yellow, set against the evergreen pines. Through New Brunswick (Canada, not NJ), and into the maritime province of Nova Scotia. Scott and Stef live in Pictou, the birthplace of "New Scotland", on the north coast, with a view of Prince Edward Island. A short walk from their house to the shore, looking back from the bay at the changing foliage lining the bay. Restful. Then back toward NJ, with another brief stop in Maine (free of charge thanks to Choice points!) Interstate travel made New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York fly by, but beautiful nonetheless.

My Retirement Year, September

Our summer travels were no different than our usual summer vacations, except it was a week longer than most, and I did not have to work on lesson plans upon our return. So when did it hit me that I was retired?
September, when Labor Day came and went, and I was not at Verona High School, I was aware of some slight difference. When the following week began, and yet again I was not in class, and I was waking up without an alarm (!) around 8 a.m. And I was having leisurely breakfasts, reading the entire newspaper before worrying about "starting the day", then I felt retired.
Almost everyone who retires often kids "when did I have time to work?" Well, in my case, we were trying to sell my father's house, and, while we were away, we got an offer. And we accepted! So there was a final push to get the house clean and ready for the sale. How would I have ever done this if I were still working? I was over at the house nearly every day; we filled our third dumpster of stuff from the garage and cellar; we boxed some "good stuff" and got it ready to move. I met with lawyers, plumbers, CofO and radon inspectors, and real estate agents. Jim (my surviving brother) and I piled up scrap metal, aluminum, copper and brought it to the recycling center. And finally, it was just about ready. We hired a POD to put away those boxed items, which was then brought to our house for further storage (that brought us into October). It was so busy that a planned trip up to VHS had to wait until well into October, which is when we finally closed the deal and said goodbye to 497.