Of course, they are very different worlds, but two areas I had studied and worked in for more than 40 years total.
At age 68, it was definitely time to throw in the towel, hang it up, and any other cliche that applies. I had always heard that you would know when it was time -- I did.
The first retirement took place at age 54, and I took three days off before I began my newspaper work. I was ready for a change and to return to the profession I had began as a teenager at age 16. I went from the craziness of a middle school to the absurdities of a newsroom --- pretty much the same.
Reflecting on both careers --- teaching and school administration and reporting and editing -- I realize what tremendous opportunities I have had and how exciting and stimulating they both were.
Now I can take my time each day, doing things I want to do, visiting with family and friends, and deciding direction if any I want to take.
It is amazing how busy I can be without going to work each day. It is so liberating without deadlines, lesson plans, meetings, or other responsibilities hanging over my head.
This retirement adventure gets better and better with new insights and prospects on the horizon.
Frances C. Lowe
Welcome to our blog site. Glenne White is my name. A bit of an unusual name, isn’t it? Thank goodness for Glenn Close - otherwise I would be even more alone with such a handle. I am named for my grandfather. Granddaughters were being born to our family in those early baby boomer years but no grandsons. Thus, the feminized Glenn.
As a retired school librarian and avid reader, I still contend that I do not know what I want to do when I grow up! Over the years, I have written theatre reviews, done some freelance writing and editing, tutored pageant queens for interviews, held a real estate license, worked for H&R Block, bought/sold/traded antiques, spent summers as a tour director (if you are old enough you may remember the movie: “If It’s Tuesday, It Must Be Belgium”), and played wedding coordinator and caterer. Still I haven’t found that one singular passion.
Graduating from William & Mary in 1968 with a double major in sociology and anthropology along with hours cleaning pottery shards, it was event that the job recruiters were not knocking at my door.
Serendipitously (if a real word), a good friend of my father’s was a school superintendent. His district needed teachers. I got a teaching certificate. In the mid-1970’s, I earned the requisite master’s in education. I stayed in local public schools - working as a librarian until age 55. Some years were wonderful and rewarding; other years, I chanted 179 days, 178 days….til the end of the year. Education wasn’t a bad fit, I am still not sure that it was the right fit. Now it is water over the dam or maybe under the bridge.
Write a novel or my memoirs suggest family and friends. Thanks, but NO. Four years of Latin and four semesters of German left me with a penchant for putting the verbs at the end of sentences. This construction for great dialog does not make. Awkward is more often my style.
If you have any ideas about what I can do when I grow up, please let me know. At age 68, we should hurry a bit. Oh, parenthetically, you should know I hate to cook. No domestic suggestions, please. Also, I do not sew. Sometime I will tell you the story of being kicked out of Home Ec in the 8th grade…it is funny. One caveat for my husband and friends: Nothing with a plug should ever be considered a gift!!
Maybe I ended up in the right career after all! And maybe it is that we “savvy broads” may make you smile or think about something a little different.
Glenne White
It started at a lunch/gossip session at least a year ago. We were discussing my upcoming retirement, Frances’ someday retirement, and Glenne’s retirement in progress.
We weren’t drinking anything alcoholic, but somehow came to the realization that we had a great deal of unshared collective wisdom. More importantly, we felt everyone could benefit from our insights after we were in retirement. We agreed, “Let’s do a blog!”
I retired in October 2013. I was Director of Handley Regional Library, and unlike my fellow bloggers, I have had only one career--librarian all of my adult life except for a few part-time and summer jobs during college. While in libraries, I did start a few newsletters and design various print and web publications. Those were tasks I always enjoyed so a blog seemed like fun.
Once a week, one of us will write a blog on something that interests us or grabs our attention. We promise not take ourselves too seriously. Look for a new blog every Monday and share our site on Facebook.
Subscribe to Three Savvy Broads and discover the topic of the week!
Trish Ridgeway
This comment came from Madlon Laster
ReplyDeleteLoved the discussion of the hair-color.
You were lucky to inherit the gene for full hair. Mine is baby-fine and sparse, just like my Dad's and my Grandma's. I leave it to my hairdresser to do what she thinks best, and she's lightening it as we go. Every time I mention I might go gray next March when I turn 80, she reminds me that the color adds thickness to the hair -- each strand, not "more" hair. I may go back to the wigs I had in Beirut (11) -- not the same ones, different ones -- eventually. Travis was a challenge and I didn't have time to have my hair done when he was an infant. I had wigs I named for the color and style, e.g. Carol for Carol Channing. Daisy Mae for the auburn one with curly "locks," etc. They were fun, but I was "young."
I have found vitamins for the hair are helpful. I take them twice a day.
ReplyDelete