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There is a lady in our neighborhood who takes a morning walk around the neighborhood and pond and picks up trash. It is a quiet, discreet and humble way to make a small difference. The persistent work of this lady makes a difference in the beautification of our neighbor and is a wonderful community service. It feels like the occupations I choose of social work and therapist are much like the intent of our neighbor lady. What we do is not glamorous or flashy and the small step

My Mom spent a majority of her life as a farm wife. By today's standards of employment evaluation, she would have reached the exceed standards at this job. She was an excellent cook, housekeeper, parts runner and emotional support person to my Dad, my brother and myself. Even though she embraced her role as farm wife, she would often talked about wanting more in terms of a job or career. When my mom graduated from high school, she worked as a telephone operator. She then mov

The question, "What if you don't" has long been time therapeutic question I pose to clients. What if you don't worry about your body or what you said or how you have been treated? What if you don't allow the past to have power over you? What if you don't keep engaging in the same destructive patterns? It's a very interesting concept that has the potential to change our thinking patterns and consequentially our behavior. So, as I begin the descent into retirement, what if I d

We were recently on a vacation where stillness was a big part of the experience. I intently watch others in stillness and experienced stillness for myself. In the craziness of my life the last 43 years, stillness has not been a frequent experience. I realized that as I approach retirement, I can enjoy some moments of stillness. Here are some words and information I found about stillness and retirement: Retirement isn’t just stepping away from work—it’s stepping into a new kin

I recently listen to a podcast where the host was discussing his journey towards nirvana or a sense of peace and happiness. This caused me to think about finding nirvana in retirement. Retirement marks a major life transition. After years of work, many look forward to a time of rest and enjoyment. Yet the reality can be more complex. Some retirees find themselves searching for deeper meaning and peace beyond leisure. Finding nirvana in retirement means discovering a state of

I was asked frequently asked over the holidays, "What are you going to do in retirement". It was a very difficulty question to answer. I resorted to discussing my intention of becoming a trophy wife but most realized that I was of course joking. I heard someone discuss retirement as the second chapter of life. I really related to this concept. I love to read and I know that a new chapter in a book is full of mystery and anticipation. A new chapter can also take many twists

This post is a bit off topic but relevant to the holiday season. This time of year makes me reminisce about past holidays and my Dad was certainly a big part of my holiday memories. My Dad loved Christmas. He displayed a childlike excitement about presents, food and traditions that was unusual for men of his generation. Christmas was fairly simple in our little farmhouse in rural Kintyre. It was just the four of us, but it was always magical. My Mom would work for weeks at ge

I have been thinking about things that I won't miss about working. I came up with three specific areas: Printers- I have a very complicated relationship with printers. When I worked in a large agency, I only needed to befriend the human who was in charge of the copy machine and any copying or printing issue was solved by this human. During the past 4 years, I have been that human who needs to manage 2 very needy printers. Just when I think everything is solved as far as bein

I have received some interesting words of wisdom regarding retirement. The best advice has come from two of my friends. My friend, Pat, gave me the advice that the first year of retirement should be a time to plan what retirement will look like for me. I really found this advice to be helpful because the biggest question people have is "What am I going to do with all my time"? I like the idea of exploring options and deciding what is important or not important. It is intere

This week I was watching David Muir, ABC correspondent for World News Tonight and he was paying tribute to his long-time retiring stage manager. This woman was obviously a master in her class and highly respected by everyone in the business. In her short interview the stage manager said she just needed to "take a breath" and that was the reason for walking away from her thriving career. This clip made me think a lot about taking a breath. I spend time talking with clients a

My Aunt Elly was an elementary school teacher in Billings, MT for 4 decades. She was never married and had no children and really saw teaching as her life work. At the age of 62 years old, she decided to retire. We were very surprised by this decision because of her dedication. She explained that the introduction of computers to the classroom was the turning point in her profession and she did not want to learn how to teach with this technology, I often think about Aunt Elly

My kids taught me the term Sunday Scaries. Evidently this term talks about the anxiety and maybe dread one feels at the end of the weekend and the anticipation of the upcoming workweek. AI Chat defines Sunday Scaries as a form of anticipatory anxiety about something that hasn't happened. When I hear this term my immediate reaction is what a waste of a day off. But in truth, during my decades of work I had many moments of anticipatory anxiety about things like paperwork, ret

Well, when I was around 10 years old, a cousin of my mom came to our little church in Kintyre, ND and gave a talk about her experiences as a missionary overseas. I was so captivated by her experiences and discussion about doing good for others. I really think at that moment I decided that I wanted to do something in the helping profession. I also learned at a young age the importance of listening to others. My dad was the township assessor and that job required him to go to

Yesterday was Wednesday. I calculated that since I was 18 years old, I have worked approximately 2300 Wednesdays. I also calculated that I have 25 Wednesdays left. I will be retiring in May 2026. I text my kids this fact and I didn't get too much sympathy as they calculated the number of Wednesdays they have left in their career and it was a lot more than 25. I always disliked Wednesdays. It always felt overwhelming and daunting. In the old days, we had to wear business casua