Countdown

“Are you counting down the days?”

This question has become de rigueur in any conversation about my retirement. (And it’s a conversation that I experience at least once a day.) I still find myself experiencing a brief flush of embarrassment as I form my now-stock answer.

“Actually, I am,” I admit, quickly adding a qualifier.

“Not that I’m eager to leave.”

or

“But it’s not as if I still don’t enjoy what I do.”

And then, so as to demonstrate that I haven’t given up, that I’m not miserable, that I can still compete in normal society, and that I have no intentions of wearing sweatpants (Seinfeld, episode 63, “The Pilot”), I stress the fact that I see this opportunity as a chance to “reformat my career”.

Maybe I should register this phrase. If you Google it – well, let me help you out here – your sole result will be Retiring Guy: New Library Director Recruitment & Hiring Timeline ...i.e., this very blog.