Today in strength training, Ben (Pete and my coach) told a story in which his father didn’t know it was Saturday. Ben asked him why this was and he then said “well, when you retire, every day is Saturday.” I then blurted out “I retired when I was 14, so I know what he means.”

The truth is that I did not retire right then. But I did decide that my time was too valuable spending it doing a task just for the sake of getting a paycheck. I have days now when I think that I should have just accepted the fact that no matter what anyone does for a living, it’s not always going to be fun and exciting.

Then today, after Pete got home, he sat at the kitchen table, and with papers in hand, carefully explained what he’ll be getting in terms of payment and health benefits when he retires My eyes grew wide when he added that one reason he decided to take the job at Mat-Su College, here in Alaska, was because he realized the retirement benefits were better. Holy crap, I thought, this was a man with foresight. And too, I found myself wishing that I’d had more foresight, and worked harder to find a teaching job.

It’s now all water under the bridge because colleges would prefer to take youngsters to someone who is, ahem, of retirement age. So I guess I’ll continue to ride on Pete’s shirt-tails because otherwise I’d be neck deep in shit.

There are some good things about my not having a regular, paying job in twenty-some odd years. The first is that I’m not, like many, going to have to make the transition that so many worry about, which is going from a life in which a job provides a structural framework to one in which I have to make my own way. I’ve done very well at being productive with my time, so this isn’t something that I fear.

The next good thing is that my lifestyle has enabled me to remain physically active, and so I am in excellent health. For example, today in strength training class I deadlifted 115 pounds and did three quarters of a chin up, two things that I would not have been able to do otherwise.

As for my writing career – I have not published as much as I’d like – but I am feeling as though my writing nearly every day for umpteen years is soon going to change this. I don’t know what will come of it, but I do think that my recent article on keeping a yoga journal is the best thing that I’ve ever written. And here, finally, I made the academic/personal writing connection.

Ohh, and lastly, I have been fortunate in that I have been able to spend so much company in the time of all our animals. If I had not been afforded this opportunity, I would not know now what I know about canine and equine education. Today, for instance was a wonderful day. I worked with Ryder on stay in the road, and spent considerable time with the horses in the playground of higher learning.

So there you have it, the pros and cons of cutting the work strings early, as told by an early retiree.

Next: 77. 3/19/19: The End of Spring Break