I woke up in a cold sweat, at 2:39 AM East Cost time on Friday morning. It occurred to me; today will be my last day at work. It was early, but I put my feet on the floor, went to the bathroom, staggering as I went, took my usual hot shower, shaved, put my work clothes on, and went down stairs. I ate my raisin bran cereal with a banana, and milk for breakfast. I still had time before leaving for work. Its 4:09 AM, too early to leave. I set wondering what today would be like. Too much was racing through my head how I would complete this day. The stress level elevated. I decided it would be wise to leave early and beat the traffic and let my mind settle down.
The drive to and from Cherry Hill in Beverly, Mass. and my home on Acropolis Ave in Londonderry, New Hampshire is a 100 miles, 50 miles each way. It meant traveling I-93 at 70 miles per hour, to Lawrence, Mass before slowing down to 45 miles per hour thru several small towns on route 114 to route 128 before arriving at my place of work. I arrived early before others checked in.
I had much to do before saying good bye to old friends I may never see again. I had to leave projects at different stages of completion for my replacement making it difficult, especially my new invention (plasma coating system). I had put my heart and soul into this project, hoping to see it operate before leaving. (I did learn later it was a success).
Between saying my good byes, cleaning out my desk, turning in my computer, credit cards, signing separation papers, spending time with my replacement, the end of the day was approaching fast. My pulse rate increase as I brought matters to closure.
My mind was saying, “Go Bill, get out of here, but this all behind you.”
It was tradition for fellow employees to line up, as you take your leave, so they could greet you as you go on your way. That was too much for me. I put all my belongings in the car and went to my boss and asked if I could leave early to get ahead of the traffic coming out of Boston. I wanted to get home safely. He knew it had been a long day for me, I was emotionally drained. He knew the danger on I-93 on a Friday afternoon going into New Hampshire, with workers trying to get home for the weekend and families making their way to the mountains and Lake Winnipesaukee to enjoy some relaxation after a long week at work.
Empty feeling!
I took the safe way home on route 28 through Salam, New Hampshire. I needed to clear my head and settle down. There was an empty feeling that set in. After enjoying a successful career in the corporate environment for 37 years, I stepped out into the world of retirement. I gave up the company credit cards, the computers, the free travel, and a brand name in the company. I felt like a ship without a rudder. I had to become re-energized in order to be transformed so that I could effectively start over again. It was time to move on and let a new generation bring in new technology.
Vacation!
Not knowing what to do with myself, I took the family on long vacation to the Panama Canal to see the greatest historical accomplishment of the 20thcentury. I was awed and motivated by the enormity of this task. I now started looking to the future to take on new challenges.
Opportunities started to click!
On my return from vacation, I started working with home-schooled students and individuals who were physically challenged. The doors opened to new opportunities. I was able to teach them to dream, create, invent, measure, construct, and the value of working together as a team. Learning is a two way street. They taught me things I had no experience in. My computer knowledge was very focused on my work. I knew nothing about social media, Facebook, Instgram, Google, You Tube, and many other computer networking sources.
The dots started to connect!
That empty feeling in my life after leaving my job is now starting to fill up. I don’t miss getting up at 5: AM, taking a shower, eating a quick breakfast, rushing out the door just to get to Beverley, Mass every morning to be on the job. I don’t miss working for someone else, with all the stress, restrictions, uncertainty, company changes, seeing people lose their jobs due to cut backs, and good paying jobs going overseas.
Freedom!
I can truly say it is a joy to have the freedom to work when I want to, take vacations on my schedule, help young people to grow and become productive citizens, work with people who are physically challenged, and volunteer to assist charities raise money, do church service projects, and serve on committees supporting good causes.
Spread it around!
My goal is to reach out to others, who want to make a change in their lives, remove stress, take vacations, create hobbies, help charities, and work with people who need it the most.
I am still growing and would like feedback and comments. Join me on this journey if you have an interest.