Friday was my husband Rick’s last day at work. He’s retiring after being with the same family-owned business for almost 42 years.

It’s hard to believe he’s been there for so many years. He’s worked for three generations of the family. A trivia tidbit: His current boss was 6 years old when Rick started.

We’ve been excitedly awaiting this day for quite some time. Last year I made him a paper chain with one loop for every week he had left to work. He just took down the last loop. Now the hard-to-imagine will finally become reality.

He has enjoyed his job and loved the people he’s met and worked with. He’s leaving on a high note, receiving lots of good wishes from co-workers and many of the vendors and customers he’s gotten to know.

I’m so happy for him, and I’m thrilled to begin this new chapter together.

Retirement head start

I have been retired a few years now, so we’re going to have to see how this “togetherness” thing shapes up. Like so many others, we’ve been together a long time but never before spent the majority of our waking hours together.

I have so many questions about how to make this ideal for both parties.

We’re planning to do a number of things together, but seriously, how much of that is a good thing? And when does it become too much of a good thing? And, what if, heaven forbid, it becomes too much for one and not enough for the other?

Is this house big enough for the two of us? Granted, it was once big enough for four. But in recent years, I’ve grown accustomed to being home alone during the day. I hope it won’t feel cramped now!

Can I really allow him to settle into his own rhythm and explore his new adventures without trying to boss him into my way of doing things? I’d like to answer “yes” to that one, but it may depend on which direction he goes as he starts to settle.

So many questions

Does this mean our house will finally be clean all the time?

Will we get rid of the alarm clock?

Last night at dinner with our son and his girlfriend, Rick mentioned a brief power outage we’d experienced the night before. It affected the alarm clock, and he was almost late for work. Our son turned to his girlfriend and explained that we still rise every morning using a plugged-in digital alarm. Before his comments I’d never realized how “old school” we must be!

Which leads to another question: With all the free time we have at this point, will we be able to pick up some tips on how to be cool?

On second thought, why would that even be a consideration any more?

The answers to these profound questions and many others will unfold in due time.

Until then, I’ll try my best to stay focused on the here and now. I’ll release the questions and turn my attention, instead, to the myriad reasons we have to give thanks at this special time.