Tomorrow, Monday, August 31, will be my last working day at my current job, which I have held for 12-2/3 years.  That’s the longest I have ever worked at any job in my entire working life.  My original goal in life was to work forever, and never retire.  Well, the Wuhan Coronavirus put an end to that goal.  The aerospace industry has been decimated by the travel bans all over the world, and our customers have been pushing out and canceling orders right and left.  And our customers’ customers have been doing the same-dominoes continue to fall on a daily basis.  It has made life at work lately very uncomfortable, and I will be glad not to have to worry about that stuff.

My husband also works in the aerospace industry, and it looks like he will be forced to retire, or get laid off, also within a short time.  We had counted on his working after I retire, as he is younger than I am.  I have been covered under his health insurance, too, and his retirement means I will have to go on Medicare pretty much immediately, something that is very distasteful to me.  Well, as with most things in life, we will get through.  We will have to watch our finances a bit more closely, and I have already been trying to get into the “live poor” mindset.  I did it for many years, and I can do it again.

I have spent the past two weeks training the buyers who will be taking over my responsibilities, and I am constantly reminded of how much I know about the little things of my commodities, and my suppliers.  Who constantly emails with niggling little issues, who always gets back to me right away with quotes, which items are very long lead-time…  I’d almost like to empty the contents of my Tribal Knowledge center in my brain, but the researchers haven’t designed the cables yet for that function.  I know that the people who take over my functions are pretty savvy, and it will not take them long to figure things out.

For the past couple of weeks, my coworkers and suppliers have been celebrating my retirement.  Two weeks ago, my favorite production planner organized a farewell lunch for me, and a couple of other people who are leaving for the same reason I am.

She is such a bouncy little lady, and she calls me “Mother Goose”.  I think I will miss her more than most of my other work friends.

This is my other favorite work friend.  He is an Electrical Engineer, and he also plays the violin.  He has taught me so much about the products we make, and how they are put together.  He loves to come by my desk to bother me (but he knows I’m not really bothered).

This is the t-shirt my little lady friend got me.

Last week, I was very surprised to receive a huge bouquet of assorted roses from one of my suppliers.  They are just beautiful, and lasted a long time.

Last Monday, when I came in to work, I found that my desk had been decorated by my boss and a coworker.  I was VERY surprised!

Well, I know for absolute certain, that they will miss me.  A lot.  And I will miss them, but not the company.

This past Friday, they gave a department retirement lunch for me.  The food was great, and my coworkers were supportive.  But there was some of the “bitter” part, which has nothing to do with my job, or my coworkers, or my friends.

How to put a damper on any kind of festivities, from the very beginning!  I have no idea why those people in the picture are smiling.  This kind of thing makes me sad, and angry.  I refuse to be afraid, and socially “distant” from my friends.  Distancing is for enemies, not coworkers or friends.

Yeah, you can almost talk to each other at lunch, when you are separated by a few feet and wearing a mask.  I did not wear a mask, from the minute I entered the room until it was time to go back to my desk (masks are mandatory in the building whenever you are away from your desk).

This shows more of the layout.  Sad.  The lady wheeling in the lunch cart by the door is my boss.  Of course, she is wearing her mask, as always.

On Tuesday, Hubby and I get in the car, and drive to South Dakota for a Ricochet meetup.  As soon as we cross the Idaho border, no state we will travel through has a mask mandate, and I hope to never have to wear one when not mandatory.  I know the hotels we will stay in require them, but I am way looking forward to being able to see my Rico friends’ faces, and see them smile.

I am also looking forward to a more leisurely trip home, with no deadline to get back to work, and no one to answer to except Hubby.  We will be traveling through Idaho, Montana, a little piece of Wyoming, and South Dakota on the way there, and will be going the Northern route through North Dakota on the way back.  We will be able to stop more often to admire scenery, and will be able to spend a bit more time when we visit my supplier in rural North Dakota.  We went through there on our Hillsdale trip in 2010, but this time we will be able to stay longer, and I will be able to take the pictures I missed the first time (the territory around Killdeer is very interesting, and I kicked myself for not taking pictures then).  Stay tuned for a big travelogue post when we get back.

So this week I will be starting an entirely new phase of my life.  It will be exciting and a little frightening, but I know I can handle anything that comes along.  I have my Sweetie to help me, and be a shoulder to cry on if I need one.  I am looking eagerly forward to becoming a Hillsdale Associate, helping the College in any way I can.

Onward to the Next Great Adventure!