It happened during a lull at work. The group was gathered in our central area and talking casually when I walked in. I paused to enjoy some informal time when one of them asked if I had made any vacation plans. An innocent question that I was able to dodge with the truthful answer of “no”, as I’m not planning on taking any vacation, I’m planning on retiring. I don’t like secrets and I’d almost unveiled my plans earlier this year before a trusted colleague advised me to “keep a lid on it”. He said that as soon as I made that announcement I’d be marginalized and ineffective at work and I don’t think I could stand that. In fact my near term retirement has embolden me to take potential career limiting risks that have proved quite fruitful.I’m also not really sure when I'll leave work, so many factors come into play. I turn 55 in May and can start collecting my pension but it would be really nice to quit a little sooner, at the end of March and devote myself fulltime to preparing Gypsy for spring launch (exact date TBD). I can afford to leave work early but the fiscally smart thing to do would be to continue working and saving as long as possible, which theoretically could be right up til the end of October. I’ve still got to sell my house and who know how that will go in this dreadful real-estate market.
Back to the “water cooler” discussion with my group: The next question was harder to dodge; “Do I have any cool sailing trips planned”? After a pause, the best I could come up with is “I'm working on that”. They're a great crew, I’d love to tell them, and my boss who I like and greatly respect. I'd love to share the confidence, the joy and all the excitement but for now, for prudence sake, I’m going stick to tried and true sailing advice; “hold your course and keep a sharp eye out.”
269 days to departure
