Its been a few days since my retirement after thirty-five years with the CRA, a government agency. If you do not know what the acronym means, too bad, we choose not to explain it.
What I have found really interesting is the reaction from family and friends, either personally or via Facebook. Oh sure, they all begin with the obligatory congratulations, but then things turn very quickly.
"Has your wife given you her list yet?" At first I assumed they were asking if she had given me a list of gifts to choose from for my retirement. But that would not explain all the happy faces and "laugh-out -louds" or the chuckles I hear. Why are all these people so interested in my rewards?
Then it hit me. These people, who I thought liked me, were not concerned about my happiness at all! In fact, they had no idea what retirement means. For some reason, they thought retirement meant changing employers from the government to my spouse. I worked thirty-five years so that I could start being at my wife's beck and call seven days a week.
What I still didn't understand is, why were these people sending happy faces instead of solemn messages of concern? Had some of them been caught cheating on their taxes and now saw this as an opportunity for revenge? Is this some kind of female sadistic ritual?
I am happy to report that I have now been retired for five days, I did get a fantastic gift from my family, and to date, NO LIST. I think she is happy to have me around, although she seemed a little less enthusiastic when I noted that I should have more time to watch football this fall.
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