A Change of Seasons on a Post-It Note

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I had just sat down in the office and was downloading the pictures taken on our trip to Colorado into our I-Mac when I saw the Post-It note sitting on the desk. I'm not quite sure why it got my attention, but it did.

I've long ago let go of any paranoia about the likelihood that there would be a "to-do" item with my name next to it on Georgette's lists and as is usually the case, this note had items for her to do, not me. 

"Christmas Carol date/tickets" was at the top of the list, a reminder that it won't be long and we will be through with fall and into winter. 

We returned from our annual trip to the Colorado Rockies the previous night where the change of seasons was in full force. It sleeted and snowed several times when we were in the mountains, making one of our hikes around Bear Lake (at 9500 ft) a bit more treacherous than we are used to. We had to chuckle though when we came across the tiny snowman that someone had made on one of the benches that adorn the trail.

I'm reminded that seasons come and go and bring both the expected and the unexpected. As expected, the golden Aspen juxtaposed against the pines and the antics of the bull elk in the yearly rut did not disappoint. Coming across the holiday adorned cartons of eggnog at the Estes Park Safeway was both unexpected and a reminder that in some instances the seasons are changing earlier than we would prefer.

Back to that Post-It note. The next two items on the list gave me pause and reminded me of the change in seasons going on in Georgette's life......her retirement.

"Sign up for SS"

"Sign up for Medicare"

After going to work nearly everyday since she was a very young woman and mother, she is retiring December 19th from her career work and transitioning into the next season of her life. 

If anyone deserves a retirement, she does. I've watched her rise and go off to work without a complaint for the past 19 years, the last 11 of those years with an hour long commute from Omaha to Lincoln. Never a complaint. She will have been in her current role for 26 years when it is all said and done. 

We've been having dinner conversations like these the past several months.

"Did you check anything off your retirement transition list today?"

"I did. I wrote my resignation letter and turned it in."

"What was that like?"

"It was weird. I've never done that before."

If she is anything, and she is a lot, she is steady, dependable and consistent. Where I've had many jobs and several major shifts in my work focus ( thus a folder full of resignation letters), Georgette essentially has had 2 jobs in the past 40 years. She has worked as a office manager for an oral surgeon and as a counselor and program manager for an employee assistance program. Somehow she managed to avoid writing a resignation letter when she transitioned into her current role. She told me how that happened but I forgot. Ironically, her first resignation letter is her last resignation letter.

Along the way she raised 2 children into adults, took care of her home and earned the respect and trust of her peers, clients, friends and family, say nothing for the love and care she provided to me every day we have been together. As I write this on a relaxing Sunday afternoon, I can smell the roast for our dinner tonight cooking in the oven while the remainder of tonight's supper is staged and ready to come together, resulting into another of the thousands of wonderful meals we've shared in our home life. With all the changes that her retirement might bring, I'm pretty sure this one will only get richer.

I generally don't make Georgette the primary subject of my writing and this is probably more public attention than she is comfortable with (sorry, Hun) but this is a story that I must tell. From where I sit, she has had a remarkable work life and has done it with grace, perseverance, and sacrifice. And because of the intensely human nature of her work, she has helped many people lead better lives, both in their jobs and In their personal lives. I am in awe of what she has accomplished.

"How does December 16th work?"

"For what?"

"For my retirement reception. Gail e-mailed me and wanted to make sure it works for both of us"

"Yep, that will work fine"

Wouldn't miss it for the world. She would prefer to skip this part of the retirement thing, but knows that there are many who want to come and share their gratitude.

In the meantime, we are figuring out how we are going live on a budget, one of the changes we need to make that comes along with a reduced household income.

And she has a few items on her Post-It note to do.

And the seasons are changing, in more ways than one.

And I hear the sounds of the table being set. And vegetables being steamed.

Tonight, we will dine with the memories of the Rocky Mountains and the hopes of what the seasons will bring.