Funny how fast six years can fly by. These office buildings along Wilshire Boulevard have been my neighbors since the summer of 2005 when we moved to this part of town. Suddenly with a phone call, we learn that the lease is up and we'll be moving again.
What this sets in motion are long-postponed plans for retirement. Rather than finding another apartment in town, we'll be completing the move to our place in the desert. I've decided to do one last year of teaching, and then call it quits. A friend is looking for a place where I can crash the nights I'll be in town.
Not the best of times, with the future so uncertain, but high time. And also timely. Over the past several weeks, a neighbor who is a landscaper has been putting in plants and trees for around the house, which make it homier. It will be pleasant to have the leisure to watch them bloom and grow.
And so a lot of goodbyes lie ahead. The first of them to Wilshire Boulevard and Westwood.
Photo-finish Friday is the bright idea of Leah Utas over at The Goat's Lunch Pail.
A sad, but exciting time.
ReplyDeleteSad times when you have to move but I'm sure you'll enjoy your last year before reitiring and watching your garden grow and bloom around you. Have a great weekend, Ron.
ReplyDeleteThats exciting Ron! It could be a great adventure. But I guess with most changes comes a great sense of uncertainty. I'm at a bit of a cross roads at the moment as well. I graduate in a couple of months and then I've got to decide what I'm gonna do. I'm already working two jobs, but I have this plan to take a gap year and go on this Islamic retreat in Wales. I really feel like I should try to better my character and reach for greater heights spiritually. I hope you find your way and the changes are for the best. :-)
ReplyDeletep.s. beautiful photo
ReplyDeleteSounds bittersweet, but probably welcome. We've had our share of changes here lately, but things seem to be working out favorably. There are worse places to retire to than that beautiful desert!
ReplyDeleteConcerning retirement, I quit 11 years ago and have never regretted my decision. My only mistake was not retiring earlier.
ReplyDeleteMy life since leaving the work world has been filled with reading, watching old movies, baseball in the summer, collecting old magazines, and listening to jazz. Since you will be retiring in a nice area, you will be one up on me living here in Trenton, NJ.
Decision time?....I`m on that cusp now. I know that cuts are coming in the Defense Sector. Our Gov: has made their cuts, I am not one of them, but? You never know. So at the moment, I look around, and see that people of our age group, are`nt getting jobs as easy.
ReplyDeleteI dislike unexpected moves but I have done it so often I refer to myself as a gypsy.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck, Ron. I hope all breaks in your favor.
I'd take the desert over the city, any day. But I get a sense of how bittersweet this can be as I look at the future (and I still will need to work another decade).
ReplyDeleteWe are contemplating the same sort of issues as a retirement package is being waved in our faces. Hard to know how much money we will need to survive.
ReplyDeleteLeah, parting is a sweet sorrow.
ReplyDeleteDavid, inshallah.
Sy, I'm all for retreats; the world is too much with us.
Chris, the desert is a definite plus.
Walker, early retirement was never in the cards, and teaching has had its rewards I wouldn't have known otherwise.
Cheyenne, when the time comes, you have to make it the right time.
David, I've gypsied on and off this continent enough to know what you're saying.
Sage, city life is hard to leave behind; I wouldn't mind being able to fully enjoy it without the demands of a full-time job.
Patti, what can I say; it's a crap shoot.
I second Mr. Martin's comments as to retirement. I haven't regretted that move one bit, but moving is always a pain as you get older and wiser.
ReplyDeleteOne more year for me also.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you are heading for the desert. The dry harsh vistas open up new worlds, and will give you a whole new life. I spent time in the Sonoran desert and found that it transformed me. I did my first serious writing of fiction in that desert. So bon voyage.
ReplyDeleteWow, Ron, I just read this. I hope that this transition will go smoothly for you. I'll miss the fact that you won't be a fellow Angelenan (sp?) that I can commiserate with, but I don't blame you for hightailing it. Let me know if I can do anything.
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