Retirement countdown

Already March. And now the countdown really begins. I will be a retired person again exactly two months from today.

So, many people have said they’ll miss me and asked how can I leave when I’m so good at what I do. They've have asked why I’ve decided to retire and why now. Of course those who really know me know the reason. On my next birthday I’ll be 70 years old. Need I go on? Well, I don’t have to, but I will. Since my brother-in-law died last month and since my friend had her neck breaking automobile accident the month before last, I’ve felt how temporary life is. And at my age it’s more temporary than for most.

Plus it’s time for the young folks to take over. I’ve definitely overstayed my welcome. Sure, I’m good at what I do. Sure the department and proposal teams will miss me. But, I suppose that will be only for a short while. (Besides they'll probably have me back once in a while as a consultant, so they won't have to miss me for long.) I’ve always been a stickler for sticking to the process and for overachieving when it comes to preparing proposal tools. Now those folks who don’t care about such things can leave them by the wayside. Madeline, the curmudgeon, won’t be around to check to see if they’ve done their work.

A colleague suggested I write a memoir about my experiences working on proposals – about each individual proposal and what lessons could be learned from them. It was a compliment that he asked me to do that, but I’ll definitely pass on that writing assignment. Proposal teams can do a much better job at lessons learned themselves. Plus I have a novel to write.