In this weeks blog we come to terms with our very last day in work prior to our early retirement adventures, we cope with the intense heatwave and finally celebrate as a family the graduation of our son from Cardiff University.
Feeling the heat...
I don’t think it was just me, but it was bloody hot at the start of the week. In the words of Robin Williams in Good Morning Vietnam- it was not just hot, it was damn hot, real hot, hotter than a hot thing.
I think that after 30 years of teaching, I would consider the heat as more debilitating in terms of education than any form of wind, rain or even snow with kids! Suddenly every student became a world renowned expert in what their human rights are relating to reasonable working conditions. We did try to point out that it was in fact a world phenonomen that everyone was having to deal with, but this reasoning cut no mustard with these self-proclaimed experts. Joking aside- it was really hot and it was a challenge to keep the kids working up to the wire.
One thing that made the days more bearable was receiving pictures of my daughter and loving wife working from home with their feet in a bucket of iced water!!!
The end of work- the final day
After so much build up and growing apprehension in my own mind- my final day actually felt quite surreal- almost something that happened to another person and not me. I tried to document some of the normal features of my working day in photographs, but they didn’t really do the moments justice. Walking into school on my final day needed a sharp intake of breath, very similar to the anxiety of Ofsted, and just like these instances, I reassured myself that there was one absolute certainty- the day would eventually come to an end just like any other day.
I found myself somehow office bound- something that I have never felt in my entire career- definitely feeling the sense that I had nothing to contribute to the end of term feeling, as I would not be there next year. The day passed along like any other end of year day that I have experienced over the last 30 years, with the only exception that I would feature in the end of term farewell presentations at the end of the day. I was surprised that I didn’t feel any outpouring of personal sadness at leaving a place I have given my heart and soul to- all I felt was contentment in a job well done, personal pride in the kind words that were spoken and written about me and a strange calmness about the future that I have not previously felt.
After all the goodbyes and thanks, it was time to clear the office for one last time. I purposely limited myself to one small box of possessions that I would really value. When it came to the final run of lovely presents to the car and it was time to definitely leave, I had a little moment looking around and remembering all the great times in the job. I then closed the door and moved on with a definite lump in my throat.
The site was pretty deserted by this time, with staff naturally keen to start their 6 week break and get off home. That final walk to the car felt really strange and I guess that I am still struggling with the concept that I will not be returning- but that is our reality. One chapter has closed, and another one begins.
Luke’s graduation
Things are never simple with Luke, and if you combine that with the lack of organisational ability of Cardiff Uni that makes for a very volatile mix! Before we start, lets make it clear that we had a fantastic day celebrating Luke’s graduation after a two year wait due to the pandemic. In the end it was a lovely event, full of lasting memories that we will treasure forever. However, it didn’t always look like it was going to turn out like that.
Luke had been in correspondence with the Uni over gown hire for over a month when it first transpired that the suppliers had ran out of gowns. He was advised to check in at 0730 on his graduation day to see if any last minute cancelations were available, but was warned- no gown, no ceremony. To mitigate against this, we borrowed an emergency gown from a family friend just in case, but we had no Cardiff hood or the all important mortar board! 0730 came around and Luke was up and out, along with half of the Uni population who were simply dismissed from their queuing experience with a sharp- no gowns available!
Luke came back a very broken and frustrated man, ready to jack in all the plans for the day. We pushed on anyway with the borrowed gown and with some trepidation he registered for his schools presentation ceremony. With much relief, the registration team were fantastic and reassured him that he would be allowed to attend, sans hood and cap.
The day very much followed in this positive (and lucky) vein, with us enjoying some great family time together at the garden party, a lazy family lunch at an amazing Portuguese restaurant that the kids had sorted and then a surreal graduation presentation in the principality stadium that was all rather corporate bizarre. It was such a good day and so enjoyable for us as proud parents. We really are so lucky with Georgia and Luke- we are so proud of the young adults they have grown into on a daily basis.
From graduation and beyond…
Jackie and I are currently pootleing around the south west coast of Wales as a live experiment in early retired life. Having no itinerary, no agenda and no timelines for return is an unnerving experience. We have enough food, fuel and booze to keep us going…but where? As I type, we are currently rained off on a Saturday afternoon in a little forrest park up way from pretty much everyone. Jackie is pretty knackered after an early morning start to witness the “on fire” sunrise across the bay, so is in bed having an afternoon snooze- because we can! It’s given rain for the next few hours so we are van bound, which is no hardship when you have a blog to write and some wine to drink!
Plans for the rest of the summer
Our house sale still looks likely for the 9 August, so we need to be around for then- cue hiring a box van and booking a storage facility for our now very modest collection of stuff. We are still aiming to hit the Alps for about 3 weeks at the end of the summer once our house sale is complete, followed by a quick trip home to check all is well. We then want to catch the last of the warm weather in the Outer Hebrides- literally just beach bumming around the islands following the sun. Once we get back from that trip in early October, we should know a little more about our house purchase and that will be when the real fun begins with builders, etc.
So that’s it for what has been a milestone week in our early retirement journey so far. It wasn’t as scary as we first perceived and we survived it with hardly any scars. We are sat writing this blog on a Sunday morning in the van in the middle of a forrest. The rain is pattering down on the van roof and all is well in the world.
Have a great week,
Jackie & Richard
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