Retirement

I retired from NHRMC in September, 2008, after 17 years of employment as a psychiatric nurse, and 42 years of being a registered nurse.  That’s a long time!  I didn’t quit because I didn’t like what I was doing, but because there were other things I wanted to spend my time doing.  The full-timeness of it had gotten to me, but I didn’t want to stop living and doing things I enjoyed.  Many of us come to the conclusion that spending time with family out-shines any other pursuit, and it’s worth some sacrifices to do that.  That’s what prompted me to make the change when I did.  That was only the catalyst that got me moving, though.

Today, I was meditating on the word “retirement” and it got me thinking.  I do that a lot.  Words get my attention and open up a whole new exploration of their meanings.  Often, I’ll also get a mental picture of the meaning and it increases my understanding of the word even more.  So, today, it was “retirement”.  Just looking at that word, you could think, “OK, “re-” means ” back”, or “again”, so what does “tire” mean?  It could mean that I will change the tires on my car…naahhh…don’t think that’s it, but it could mean that.  In our culture, we’ve come to know that word to mean that we stop working at a job or career at a certain “mature” age ( nice word for “old”).  The word is actually derived from the French word “tirer” which means “to draw”, so the two together mean “to draw back”, and it can be applied in numerous ways.  Essentially, it means to withdraw, retreat, put to rest, etc. (retire to bed, retreat from the battlefield, retire the account).  But, of course, I got to thinking, again.  Instead of retiring from something, how about retiring to something else?  It’s another way to look at the season of retirement.  It also opens up another whole can of worms.  What am I going to retire TO?  It makes me think that this season is more aptly called “transition” rather than retirement, because it really is more of a moving from one thing to another.

Since “trans-” means “to cross over”, that makes me think that there’s something in between the two, like in limbo, which means “an indeterminate state midway between two others.”  It’s not a bad thing, just uncomfortable while you navigate the uncertainties.

One thing is for sure.  Life is an adventure, no matter what stage you’re in.  This has been a great year of harvest for me in so many ways, and I have my spiritual senses perked up to catch the winds of change that are blowing.  I don’t want to miss a thing and have approached this season with anticipation and a desire to do things I haven’t done and go places I haven’t been.  God is good in every way and living His way is full of adventure and is fail-safe.  However long or short my life is, I want to live it to the fullest and fulfill all my assignments.

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