The First Day of . . .

Many who will read this page know that I retired yesterday. My retirement from NEOEA was a “long goodbye,” and over the past year many have asked the question that retirees hear so often: “What are your plans?”

I haven’t really had an answer, but I do have some guesses. I have been fortunate to have a wide variety of interests, and they have always competed with each other. So within the next month or so I’ll begin to see what I enjoy the most and what I miss the most, and that should give me some direction.

At the heart of my expectations would be family and friends: enjoying our children and grandchildren, doing further genealogy exploration, and reconnecting with friends I’ve been too busy to see.

I will continue to play and sing the music that has always been such a joy to me. I’m looking forward to mastering the “retirement camera” I bought a couple of weeks ago. I have plenty of things to work on in our house and my workshop. I need to read more, write more, cook more, see some movies, and attend some concerts. I continue to care about the state of society and especially our responsibility to educate future generations. I plan to start paying attention to my health.

And I’ve been preparing this website. My friend Dan Dyer is perhaps my biggest role model: his “Dawn Reader” blog provides an excellent example of retirement energy well-spent online.

As Dag Hammerskjöld wrote (Markings, 1864): “For all that has been–thanks. For all that will be–yes.”

Author: StgCoach

Retired teacher and public education leader. Pastoral musician, community activist, parliamentarian, and photographer.

12 thoughts on “The First Day of . . .”

  1. Congratulations my friend. You deserve this. I know that you will never be bored nor will you lack things to keep you busy. When people tell you that retirement isn’t what it’s cracked up to be , they’re wrong,,,It is ! Enjoy the next chapter in your life !

  2. I wish I thought of this! It would havebeen easier to write a book. Can you inform laurie garvin of what you are using for website Northwesternviews65gmail thanks

    1. Laurie, I am using WordPress. WordPress is a bit confusing to use because there are two versions: WordPress.com and WordPress.org.

      WordPress.com is easier in its way. They host your blog for you and give you an address on their webspace. An example from a friend of mine is https://janresseger.wordpress.com/, which is run by Jan Resseger of Cleveland Heights. Perfectly good for blogging.

      I set mine up using WordPress.org. This is a foundation that makes the software available for free. The only “catch” is that you have to have hosting space somewhere. So the software is free, but I’m paying something each year for the space. It’s a bit more complicated, but I’m hoping that the flexibility will eventually pay off, and that will require my spending more time working on the website.

  3. Congratulations Bill! Enjoy your retirement….I definitely am!

  4. Clearly, spokesmodel for Basil Hayden’s makes the short list… great picture. Congratulations!

  5. Why don’t you bring that new camera down to the lovely desert southwest? October is beautiful, and we’ll show you a good time. Congratulations, Uncle Bill!

  6. Bill, welcome to the club. It is a great life, and I’m sure will be full as it has always been!

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