Is there Life after Retirement?

Of course there is! One is much busier after retirement than when one was still actively working a 9 – 5 day.

Before one retires, one has lots of plans as to what to do with one’s time. Ah, now I can do what I’ve never had time to do….. sleep in, have coffee mornings, go jogging, learn to cook, more gardening, read the book that I never had the time to read, etc, etc, etc.

How did I do?

Well, the day after I retired, I flew off to the UK to attend my son’s graduation. However, after returning home, reality set in. No more waking up early and leaving the house early to beat the traffic jam. I could walk in my garden and enjoy my flowers and potted plants. A leisurely breakfast on the patio, enjoying the cool morning sea breeze while reading the newspaper…… such a relaxed lifestyle.

Yet, I felt empty. I missed the chaotic movements of students coming and going, the school bell ringing at the end of lessons, the noisy chatter of the boys and girls, the sight of teachers huddled over their students’ exercise books in the staff room, their grouses and the incessant ringing of the telephone in the general office. I missed sitting among the school kids during breaktime at the school canteen. Yes, I often did that to see how things were, since our school canteen was very small and we had so many students.

Besides, with the school principal sitting and eating together with them ensured that there would be no rowdiness. Unbelievable, but I never thought that I would miss school so much after being caught in the daily “madness” of running a school and attending to so many things piled up on my desk over the years.

One thing I didn’t miss for sure, was the occasional irritant of having to attend meetings outside of school which mostly were a waste of time as nothing really useful ever came out of it. I liked walking along the corridors, looking into the classrooms or out at the school field to watch the students having their physical education. That was my daily constitutional.

Yes, I missed the boys and girls who came into my office to discuss issues that troubled them, the teachers who had issues as well and the many activities of the school. The activities and the students and teachers were the pulse of a school.
I missed all that and it took quite a while before I settled into retirement proper.

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