Counting the Days

Countdown to Retirement…only 3 days left! Who could have imagined that 30.03 years in education would come and go so quickly? The thought of it actually blows my mind! So, exactly how does one define “retirement”? The word in whole has been defined as, “withdrawal for prayer and study and meditation” (a religious retreat of sorts); or “the state of being retired from one’s business or occupation”. Then if you break the word up into parts it could appear as “re=again”, “tire=hoop that covers a wheel”, and “ment=refers to an action or process or its result”. I suppose that’s how I really feel…like an old car that’s getting refitted with a new set of tires…hopefully, to be able to go another 100, 000 miles! I’m not exactly sure what roads this new set of tires will take me down, but I’m excited about the possibilities! And then there’s my dear friend, Nadine’s definition of retirement that I love which is, “Half the salary and twice the husband!” However, my absolutely favorite definition of retirement is one I heard a few weeks ago while watching TV in a hotel room in Lawrence, Kansas. Paul Orfalea, founder of Kinko’s, was being interviewed on one of those early morning talk shows. He recently sold his business for a gazillion dollars and was asked what he was going to do now that he was “retired”. His response to the interviewer was that he did not think of himself as “retired”, but as “repurposed”. I really like that! Think I’ll use it – it fits (like a good tire). Repurposed…finding purpose all over again for one’s life. Being able to bring all of your previous life experiences together as you seek a new “purpose-driven life”. Boy, where have we heard that before? Time for me to pull out my copy of PDL and re-read it once again. At least now I’ll have plenty of time to retreat and do just that!