ahhh..... Retirement!

Tomorrow, May 1, 2019, will be my last day at General Cable.  I have gone to the same place for almost thirty-one years.  That, my friend, is a very long time.  I have seen a lot of good people come and go - some on their own, others not.  And only by the grace of God have I been able to complete my career here.  I do praise Him for that.  I think it was fifteen years or so ago that I was told, "obviously there is no place for you in the new Marion."  Not true!  The ones that told me that have been gone from General Cable for a very long time.  I'm still here!..... until tomorrow that is.

The stapler pictured has been on my desk since the very beginning.  Even though I have sat in fourteen different locations in the building, my desk and stapler followed me wherever I went.  I decided to leave the desk but not my stapler!  Yeah, I'm kind of a sentimental gal.....  and this is kind of bittersweet.  I've made a lot of friends working and even though we say we will stay in touch I know that we won't.  Some I have never even met, only having an email/phone relationship with them, but I still consider them my friend.

I'm excited about this new chapter in my life.  I started working when I was fourteen - car hopping at a Dog n' Suds, working all through high school at a Burger Chef, taking a couple of months off my senior year, then getting a job a week or so after graduation.  This was an office/secretarial job and from there I went to running Thoroughbred Race Horses in West Virginia - not too lucrative and a lot of hard work but pretty cool job for me (because I've always been that horse crazy lady).  After that I did some time as a dispatcher for the Marion Police Department - I liked this job too - good people protecting us.  Then I moved to Hawaii where I acquired a very good job working for the Navy.  When I left there I went to a sister command in Norfolk, Virginia.  Then back home to Marion, Indiana.  On June 18, 1988 I was hired at General Cable (actually Cablec at the time).  I've been there since that day.  During this time we also have raised, trained, and raced Thoroughbreds and as John would say, that is a full time job in itself - but a dream come true for me. 

John retired last October and he has settled into it just fine.  I think I will do fine as well.  We have a lot of things on the bucket list.... well, maybe not a lot of "things" but plan to spend a lot of "time" on several. And if I were honest, that is probably what I look forward to the most - having time.

• time to sit on the deck in the morning and read in my Bible or whatever other good story I'm reading.
• time to listen to the birds sing their praises.
• time to water my flowers in the cool of the morning instead of the heat of the afternoon when I am already tired and wondering why I planted so many.
• time to work with our dogs when we are fresh instead of dragging after a long day at work.
• time to work with the "orphan" that is four years old and knows NOTHING - it's okay, he's a horse.  He is fed and taken care of and he will learn.
• time to clean my barn and keep it clean.
• time to help John with the mowing and gardening.
• time to go fishing!  And not feel guilty about things that aren't getting done at home.
• and yes, time to blog and write more, and spend quality time with my cameras.

Don't get me wrong, I know none of us are guaranteed "time".  We don't know when we will be called Home.  I also believe that when that time comes for me, Heaven will be much more glorious than any of the things I have listed above - it's hard to believe, but I believe it to be true.


I'm thinking I will like this retirement gig just fine.  It's going to be great!  Stay tuned........