My Final Steps – March

My Final Step!

So close I can almost touch it!

With retirement just 20 working days away, things are starting to heat up for me at work.

I am working madly to transition my thirty three years of knowledge into a working documents. I know that no one is irreplaceable and that they will get along just fine without me. I still worry that I will run out of time before everything on my transition list is marked off.


I plan to kick off my retirement with a week long trip to Florida then on to Arizona for 10 more day of hiking and enjoying time in the sun with my husband Scott.


March 3rd

I give my notice in writing to my boss today!

Read below:

After great thought and with a lot of mixed emotions, I have decided it is time for me to retire my position as work flow - coordinator at CGDMS. 

My last day will be March 30 2012 

My years at CGDMS have been some of the best of my working life.

I have had many positive experiences here, both professional and personal, that I  will always remembered fondly. 

I would like everyone at this wonderful company to know how pleased I am to have had the opportunity to serve everyone for the past 10 years. Thanks to all of you again. It has been a privilege to work and serve you.

Sincerely, Margaret Curry.



The president of the company announced my retirement  to the company today  Read below:

From: Braddock, Tommie, S (CGDMS)

Subject: Retirement Announcement - Margaret Curry

To All CGDMS Employees,

After 33+ years of service, Margaret Curry has announced that she will be retiring on March 30, 2012. Margaret began her career with Taylor Corporation back on June 14, 1978 as a printer working for Carlson Craft, located in Mankato, MN. Through her hard work and spirit of cooperation, Margaret was then promoted to Group Leader. As the Group Leader, Margaret would coordinate the work flow of approximately 100 team members, ensuring accuracy and on time delivery.

In 1998, Margaret moved to Holland with her husband Scott, to start a new business for Taylor Corporation called PII BV. Margaret took on the role of Production Manager and managed a staff of about 30 employees.

Then in 2000, both Margaret and Scott were asked to move back to the United States and help with a newly acquired business located in Colorado. Margaret’s role with Current was Office Supervisor.

Given an opportunity to return to Minnesota in 2002, Margaret was offered a position with CGDMS as the Work Flow Coordinator. Margaret welcomed the opportunity and we have enjoyed working with her the past few years. We will miss her dearly and wish her a very happy retirement. Margaret will be moving back to the Mankato area and is looking forward to life’s next adventure.

Please join me in congratulating Margaret and wishing her the best in her new endeavors.

Tommie Braddock | President

Corporate Graphics Direct Marketing Solutions



Then came a surprising e-mail from the man that owns all of the corporation that I have worked for for 33 years   Read below: 

Margaret,

Tommie dropped me a note indicating that you would be retiring on March 30th. First of all, congratulations to you and I hope that retirement provides you with all of the opportunities you deserve.

I have been so fortunate over the years to work with such great people like you. You have provided leadership and a standard for other employees to watch and try to match. Your ability to take on so many different positions over the years has hopefully provided a career that has been educational and very interesting.

I wish you and your loved ones the very best.

Glen Taylor



This e-mail is from my boss.

From: Paap, Frances, M (CGDMS)

Subject: Never Say Good-Bye

Hi Margaret,

I was holding out writing you a note hoping your retirement date would not come, but as I look at the calendar I see the date is fast approaching. I can still remember the day you came into LTS to talk with me about working with our company. I look back on that day as one of the best days of my life as I got to meet you and start a long time relationship.

I have really enjoyed working with you and seeing that big smile on your face. You have dedicated so much to Corporate Graphics and to Taylor Corporation we are so lucky. You have given so much of yourself and your time. Thank you so much for being you, and giving all you’ve got.

I have learned many things from you during our time together. The most important thing I learned was how you give of yourself and don’t expect anything back in return. You have been serving the company for years instead of expecting the company or its employees to serve you.

I will miss you each and every day,

Love Frances



I Thanked My Co-Workers!

Dear All,

I am writing to thank you all for your support, friendship, good wishes and generous gifts, since I announced my retirement. I would like to say thank you from the bottom of my heart, but my heart has no bottom for you.

I would also like to thank Margie, and her social committee for organizing such a brilliant going away party for me. It felt more like a reunion than a going away party. Seeing so many of you come out to wish me well, will be a memory that I will treasure forever.

I look forward to seeing you all again sometime in the future.

Kinds regards,

Margaret. 

 

My last  paycheck from CGDMS.

 March 30th 2012 at 4pm, I punched out for the last time at CGDMS!

 

A few picture from my retirement Party! 

March 31th

After 50 + years of living at work, today I begin working at living!

My Final Steps - June

Seven Steps To The Party!

Trust me - I am not actually counting the days until I retire. That would be to much like getting out of a jail sentence, even though there is days lately that it feels like that I am so anxious to be as the book say… Retired Wild and Free! I know that there is a limit to the number of days in this final year, but I would rather look at the year more in terms of the month-long chunks.

So why am I doing this? Why am I writing of my last year! Partly I'm writing this because writing is one of the things that I possibly might enjoy doing in my next chapter! I'm also thinking that "if it's in the paper, it must be true." If I see it in print, I must mean it. Not that I have any questions as to whether I mean it or not. Rather I have questions as to how I will react on than final day, :) :( or when I find myself somewhere else on the first day after retirement.

I am sure there is a few family members and friends that question, whether I am really ready to retire this time. I know, I know you have heard me saying I was going to retire many time over the last three years!  “Read this e-mail I just received from a friend”

Hi  Margaret,
I hear you are retiring Margaret, I don't believe that until I see it. When is the happy last day?

Yes there was a nagging thought, in the back of my mind, that I should stay here. It is warm, it is dry, and most of all it is safe. Yes I was afraid to leave in the past." Now I am neither afraid to leave or do I have that nagging thought that I should stay here. I know I will miss it, but I will not dwell on that. It is time to move on to my next chapter, the one I have been preparing for over the last three years.  “This time belongs to me”



I will close these June Final Steps with these words!
The longer I live the more beautiful life becomes. - Frank Lloyd Wright
 

“A Long Long Time”

5 decades 50 years, now that's “A Long Long Time.”

This is a big one. Where do I start? After 50 + years in the working world even though I have had many other reasons to get up in the morning, going to my job seemed to be the big one.

“I just did it week, after week, year, after year,decade, after decade.”
Now I have had many jobs since I entered the workforce at the age of fourteen.This one I am getting ready to retire from is the one I have been in the longest. 33 years!

What have I liked most about my job?

I would say:

“The people that I have worked with over the years, and my pay check.”
If I was to post all the Thank You Notes, Birthday Cards, and You Made My Day Cards I have gotten over the years they would fill a library. 2011- spring 2012 will be my last year in this long long chapter of my life. With a tear in my eye: I will move on to start the next page in this incredible book called LIFE!



Scott and I originally planned that I would retire in 2009, until the 2008-2009 market crash and recession rocked our perfect world. We took some loses in our portfolio along with millions of Americans. I put my retirement on hold to help get us back on track financial… I also felt very lucky that I was able to make that choice.

No regrets here. I got to spend another few years with my great coworkers. I enjoyed some more time with my car pooling friend Sonja, and I am emotionally and financial more ready for the big day than I was in 2008.

I have prepared gradually for retirement, I fully understand the fears and anxiety of this incredible trip I have had them all!

I have been getting my feet wet so to speak over the last three years and I have all my homework done! I have read all the experts advice, even though I did not learn much from any of them. There was a few helpful hints though and this was one of them:

Is the time right?
I have worked hard all my life, I met every challenge life has thrown at me in the work place. It’s time for me to stop working and start living my own way. These years belong to me that's how I truly feel!

Yes.. the time is right! 
As I prepare for these final steps into retirement: I am inviting you to travel along with me to the finish line and help me celebrate in this final chapter of “A Long Long Time.”

My Final Lap!

My Final Lap in “A Long Long Time”
I have started my last lap with that sense of relief that when it's over,it's over. But I also start it with the sense that this must be a lap that reflects the hard work, drive, ownership and passion that got me to this point.
March is the Month that I sit down with my boss and she goes over my performance review with me every year! This year and many years in the past, my boss has given me a very good score for accomplishing all my goals. She also has given me a small pay hike for a job well done!

March is also the month every year that I spend time planning my goals for the year ahead. If I didn't get to them all that year, I'd make plans for the next year. Now, that luxury is gone.They all must be done this year!
One of my goals I have been working on for a few years now is to leave everything that has been assigned to me over the years that I have worked for this company a little better and easier for my co workers than when they were assigned to me 33 years ago.Today and many days over the next year I will be spending some extra time on those goal.
Now you might be thinking that I have a big title after my name or a big paycheck to go with it. To the contrary I am a laborer. When I say laborer I mean I punch a clock. I coordinate the work flow and help my coworkers with what ever they need help with. I am in charge of the filing system, office supplies all of our printers and copiers, and just about anything anybody would need help with in the office. I think my big title is called Support level 3!
Sometimes it's hard to imagine how this coming year will go.The planning and preparation are nearly as good as the doing. My energy from day to day has gotten stronger knowing that a new beginning is  happening right in front of my eyes. I love that feeling of joy I get, when a coworker says something like what will we do without you, or you make me smile. One of my favorite sayings was… one day I was helping a coworker with a project, before we finished she looked up at me and said, you make me so happy!  Ahhh! The joy of making someone happy, in the life of a 9 to 5 shift.










March 11-11
Again today we have been reminded of the power of nature, looking at those pictures coming out of Japan, they were simply amazing. It did not seem right to be watching such horror even frightening at times, knowing that peoples life’s were being taken as we watched.
The horror in Japan has reminded me once again of the fragile nature of our existence on this planet. While my heart, and soul, was in Japan my mind travelled back in time to my home land and my family in Ireland and memories of my last visit with them in November 2010.
Read: “What if there isn't Anymore”
March 17th
With the tragedy in Japan getting worse day after day I feel guilty about getting excited or having fun  while so many people are suffering. But it’s St Patrick's day and I work with  lots of” We wish we were Irish people” all dress up in green ready to have fun with their only real Irish Lass for the day. Lucky we were busy at work  so we did not get into any trouble. I did turn down a happy hour that was planned after work, in favor of a glass of wine at home with Scott.
Read:  “Drowning the shamrock”
Monday thru Friday
Last fall my health care provider came into work for a health screening test on all the employee that work in our company. It was free so I though why not have it. To my surprise I got the bad news that I have  high cholesterol! My doctor suggested I eat healthier, exercise more, and he put me on that little white pill for three months. I also made it one of my new years goals!
Read:  Goals – by Irish
Tuesday 22th
Well today was my big day I took the day off work to see my doctor and have a complete physical! Even though I did not work as hard as I wish I had on my diet and exercise… I was pretty sure that what I had worked on.. would pay off and it did. My doctor was very happy with me I had lost 7 pounds and got my cholesterol closer to normal. I know my goal was 10 pounds by April first but its a good start and I am enjoying a healthier way of eating! hooray!!!

This was one of my publicly stated goals for the new year,  knowing that you are keeping and eye on me and holding me responsible keeps me on my scale!

 
March 26th
March has been the month for many year now that Scott and I come out of hibernation after a long cold winter in Minnesota. We scurry off to sunny Arizona to visit family, do some hiking, and enjoy some sunshine at a beautiful pool. Scott’s mother and father own a little piece of heaven in an retirement park there, called Sunflower Resort in Surprise Arizona. Thanks Eine and Neil for sharing your little home with us!
For many years on these vacation while sitting by this pool! I have day dreamed about retiring and often took a little journey in my mind to the day when I could spend a month here and not just a week.

Last year 2010 I took two week vacation to test drive my retirement dream. I even bought a retirement  wardrobe from the clothing line of “Life is Good”  how cool is that..  I even started wearing them while I was on vacation. It all felt great! I have a lot more dreams than this one for my retirement. But this is my  training spot for “My final lap”. Ahhh the dream of retiring!

Saturday 26th
After a long hard cold winter here in Minnesota, Scott and I are ready for our Arizona vacation to visit family and enjoy some sunshine!
Arizona here we come!
March 27 thru April 1
We have enjoyed time with my sister and her husband, and Scott mother and father!

Now we are soaking in lots of rest, and relaxation, in sunny Arizona on this last rushed vacation from work here before I retire. Yes, being here has made the dream of retirement bigger than ever!
Since there is a great little library here in Sunflower Resort that has lots of books on retirement and this is my training spot. You guessed it, I have been reading lots of advice on what the experts have to say. One of the questions most asked from the experts is “How do I know when it is time to retire”? the answer usually is; They do not know when the time is right for you, but they can give you some indicators.
These are very important questions? When you can answer them you may be ready to retire!
Out of seven indicators, I picked three that best suited me!
#1  When do you want to do it?
After many years of careful planning! I have finally arrived at the time I want to do it? Spring 2012.
#2 “What do you want to do with the rest of your life?   This is what the retirement experts have to say about that. 
Your retirement will be like a blank canvas. You'll buy all the paints and brushes but will have no idea what it will look like until you start.  Great!!  I thought all I had to do is make a bucket list, but now I have to learn to paint!
 
#3  You are excited about making a major change in your life (where you live, how you spend your time) Change is life. A life without change is in a rut. Change can be stimulating, exciting, terrifying, and necessary. Sometimes you just have to shake it up and that thought gets your blood racing.
April 4th
Over the past 33 years Scott and I have made many major changes in our life some were good some were bad but they all were exciting. Today was one of those day when we made a major change in our plans that got my blood racing!
Read:  “Mini Cooper Road Trip”
Wait here Scott: The Mini Cooper road trip was on my bucket list after I retired next year, not this year. Ok Ok I know, I have already been wearing my retirement wardrobe that I bought last year!!
The only thing we can say is,  If it just feels right.... do it. Isn't that what life is all about.... We are following our dreams we only hope we are smart enough to know where our dreams are taking us.
Conversation  was our number one source of entertainment on our road trip from Arizona to Minnesota. We never ran out of things to talk about or plan. We spent many hours talking about my retirement, our dreams together, we made a bucket list, and a road map for the next two years. And of course there will be many more MINI Cooper S Convertible road trips!!

Now dreams are one thing and reality is another. Unless life has other plans for me: My plan is to make this retirement dream a reality next year.  Hooray!!
Tuesday 12th April
I feel very relaxed and spoiled after a two week vacation: the hardest part has usually been returning to work. This time it was different even though my desk was full of papers that had accumulated over the two weeks I was out waiting for me to sort them all out and file them: I did not feel like I had to get everything done my first day back like I usually did.
I took frequent breaks through out the day to chat with co workers that were interested in the highlights of my trip! 
When some one said I missed you or glad you are back I took extra time to thank them or to let them know I appreciated and missed them also!
The hardest part of a two weeks vacation for me over the years has been all the preparation I have had to do at work to get ready to leave. Making sure anything that needed to get done immediately gets done and being able to delegate out my work so it all get done while I am gone!
My plan is that this would be my last two weeks of vacation before I retire: I will be taking many long weekends and a few mini vacation in My Final Lap of a long long time! Just knowing that has made this vacation, and return to work after vacation, a very relaxing enjoyable experience!
April 16th –17th
I am sure you have heard the saying many times, I need a vacation from my vacation. That's how I am feeling this weekend. So much work goes into the planning of a vacation, I am ready to just sit back and do nothing for a weekend!
April 18th - 23rd
My boss was out of the office most of the week. She asked me to take on extra assignments for her which I was more than happy to do. I feel good when my boss trusts me to fill in for her when she is out. Having my boss trust me has always been very important to me… and now that trust is more important than ever in my Final Lap.   
Good Friday
Ahhh! the weekend is here. I left work a little early today I had already worked over 40 hours this week and it was a  beautifully rainy spring  day! Most people that I have worked with over the years would rather stay at work on a rainy day. “Not Me” I love a rainy day! Rainy days are just nice and relaxing you can just shut off the world and have some downtime. Three things I love to do on a rainy day is… #1 go for a walk in the rain, #2 read a good mystery,#3  take a nap, today it was a nice long nap!  A new green raincoat is on my list of stuff to buy for all those walks in the rain I hope to take after retirement! 

Easter Sunday
Scott and I took our MINI Cooper out for a mini road trip to St James Minnesota to visit our family on Easter Sunday. As always we had a great time just not long enough. If this was next year and I was retired we could have stayed a little longer, even overnight but for now a few hours will have to do.
Week 25th-28th
This week  was “Bring your child to work week” Even though I have enjoyed seeing my coworkers children each year it was also a day that was hard to get my work done.This year I was different I was  more relaxed. I also took time out from getting my work done, to enjoy the children and their special day!
Friday 29th
Today was a great day! I started out my day getting up at at 4 o'clock in the morning to watch the Royal wedding of Will and Kate. While I was having a cup of tea and enjoying how dashing Harry looked! I looked out the window to see these men at work. All this activity was going on at 4o'clock in the morning.

Then my own prince of 33 years and I went to McDonald for their now famous oatmeal breakfast!
It was also my last day to work for the month of April! Yes I have eight months to go and I can apply for SSA, Hoot! Hoot!
Just over a weeks ago I asked my boss if I could take every other Friday and a few Thursdays off for the  summer months of 2011. Today she got back to me on that request, and she said I could have them off up until July 4th. Then we will relook at the rest of the summer months which I was more than happy with.
Thought For The Month – We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us! – Joseph Campbell

Retirement Fears?

Help me please!  Have any of you had any fears about retirement? 
  
Years ago. I  wondered many times what life would be like if I did not have to go to my laborer’s job every day. When I say laborer, I mean I punch a clock.
In the beginning years as a young girl, I had to walk two or three miles a day to and from work. On many of those long walks back home after work, I used to day dream about winning the lottery even though I have never bought a ticket. It was just fun to dream about living in that world of money and just being able to do what  ever you want in the day. Even thought many time in my dreaming I would ask myself what would you do if you win lots of money? Would I run into work to give in my notice or just never show up again. Most of the time I would be home and that dream would end before I ever had the answer to that question.
Or maybe in my subconscious mind I just wanted to stay a laborer.
Its been 50 year since I started this life of a clock puncher. Life has never changed for us clock punchers. I have only missed  work one time in 50 years, I was sick with food poisoning that day!  I have never missed work for any other reason, unless  it was time off for vacation, which always had to be approved by my supervisor.
I have seen some clock punchers who have had to call in because they were sick, family problems, or bad road conditions. These people can be on the list for being fired or laid off. I have seen many fired people going out the door crying not knowing where their next meal will come from.
On the other hand, some of the salaried people I've seen recently (especially those in upper management) their life has gotten easier. If their child is sick, or they are sick, or bad road conditions, not to mention every holiday like Christmas, Thanksgiving, and any other long weekend, or just a nice summers day, (The list could go on and on)  we will get that  familiar E-mail, saying:
“I am working from home today” You can reach me on
e-mail,  or call my cell.

It seems they never have to take a sick day, or a vacation day, because they are sick. It seems they never have had that fear of getting fired because they have to miss work. They can just say:
“I am working from home today”  You can reach me on
e-mail or call my cell.
On top of their already big salaries, they do not have to worry about losing a days pay, like a clock puncher.
Now where am I going with all this rant?  The truth is it is not a rant its just real life!  So why have I planned to retire for the last three years and just could not do it yet, even though my Social Security check would not be that much less than I get now?
It’s just who I have been for so long.  “A clock puncher.”

 
I am starting to get afraid that this is what I am going to hear when I do retire.

Well my friends this is the year 2012. No exact date yet.
I am going to give up the jobs I worked at for over 50 years as a clock puncher.
Finally: I will be able to say!
You can reach me on E-mail, or call my Cell!