Resignation and Doomsday

It has been just over five months since I’ve had to turn in my resignation to my supervisor. The letters of intent to return had been sent out just before the Christmas holiday, so I had to indicate that I was resigning, but I asked her to please keep it quiet until the new year. I couldn’t hold back the news for very long, as I was charged with interviewing candidates and hiring my replacement, so by mid-January, not only did all of my department know but most of the organization as well. So with the news of my resignation, I encountered many questions that I was not at liberty to answer, because, well, only half of us had announced our early retirement. So as people were congratulating me on my early retirement and asking if I had any plans, I had to respond with vague statements about wanting to be free to travel more and spend more time with the kids. It wasn’t far from the truth, but I was itching for the chance to share the real scoop to see how people would react. All in all, I hung in there but it was tough. 

That brings us to today, Doomsday. This was the “affectionate” nickname we gave to the day when Jason would announce his retirement. We gave it this name because we knew that the news was not going to be easy for the others in his place of employment, so there is a tad bit of dread behind it. When you leave a position where you are an asset to the business, or just generally well-liked, there will always be people who will be upset by your departure, even if they wish you well. We understand that so it was important for us to be mindful about the process. Doomsday was planned for June 1^st,  but it fell today because the practice had started on future scheduling and Jason didn’t want to create any additional burden for the office staff. Getting the word out about our retirement was incredibly freeing. This was a major step and we were elated that we could finally speak to people regarding our future plans. Since everyone at my work knew that I was resigning for “early retirement”, the news about selling it all to live on a sailboat was a little less of a shock on my end. However, this was big news to Jason’s coworkers. 

I will also note that we came home from work and watched the newly released SV Delos Episode 173, featuring Lisbeth’s last day aboard, while celebrating the cat being out of the bag.  The big day had come and we were free to tell anyone who wanted to know more. 

UPDATE: So, do you want to know if anyone thought we were crazy? While no one came right out and said that, you could see a sort of bewilderment going on in their brain as they processed what we were saying. Or some people were like “wow, good for you” but you could totally tell that they couldn’t relate to ever leaving the rat race. Overall though, people were positive, wished us well and told us they would follow our adventures! Some are even looking for a chance to join us or meet up once we are on the boat. Good stuff!