A friend of ours has got himself into much trouble. The police sting was posted on social media. He was named and shamed. If the case is as clear as it's been presented, then he could go to jail for a few years.

My husband is frustrated and angry at this friend. Rightfully so. He ran a family business. Many people, including other family members, depend on him for their jobs. Our friend could also be very impulsive and has a long history of drug fueled meltdowns. 

We are close to the friend's husband and some of the extended family. We've reached out to them to offer whatever help we can.

Social weekend. My husband remarked that we had too much scheduled and not enough downtime.  It was warm and sunny over the weekend and our different friends wanted to meet up before the gray and rain returns. 

Retirement from work is proceeding. I've started screening resumes for my replacement. Interviews start next week. 

My husband asked if I was worried about having something purposeful to do after we retired. I quickly said no. Maybe I am a little worried about meaning and purpose. I won't be bored however. I have a craving to shut my cell phone off and disconnect for days. While that's not meaning or purpose, it's a sign that I am too over connected. Work always has something to review, approve, or check in on.

Why stay? In June, I will receive a healthy amount of deferred compensation. So I will stick to my plan of leaving by end of June.

The weather has been wonderful this weekend. We’ve been catching up with friends. 

We had brunch with Huff and C2. C2 has opened an investment account for baby H. C2 wanted to get together to go over the instructions on how to deposit, check in on the account, as well as the limitations on withdrawals. We are hoping that in 20 years this account will be enough to fund her college education or a down payment on a home. 

The week has become more chaotic. I told an associate "I'm past concern. This is all hilarious."

The story so far... in March I told my new and old manager that I'm retiring at the end of June.

Last week,  my peer director accepted a job elsewhere and is leaving at the end of this week.

Wednesday morning, my former boss (AS) was let go.  

Our vice president (TA) is leaving at the end of this week. Rumor is that he was asked to leave.

I still care about the team, our technology and our business. I want to project some stability. I don't want to unintentionally encourage everyone to abandon ship. When I was talking to an associate about this conundrum, he responded that all the rats are scurrying off the ship. How could they conclude anything else? 

The endless re-orging of our company continues. AS has been let go. AS was the boss I lost about a month ago due to the the prior reorg-- not the former boss who is doing the start-up. I have so many former bosses. 

AS and I talked over the phone. He was let go while on paternity leave. Apparently another reorg is in the works.  The role he was to have after returning from leave has gone away.  Financially, they will pay him to the end of his paternity leave and then pay him an additional departure package. 

I'm a little jealous. I want to be laid off. Watching this happen around me is like seeing a car crash in slow motion. 

This past weekend we attended the North Coast Roundup, an AA conference in Seaside. We rented a house with a few friends. Overall it was a good weekend. 

Our friend QJ caught us up on his life. He's been off work with back pain and has had a series of surgeries to address the issue. He is better now and will soon return to work. We asked QJ what caused the injury.  He told us that he played much football in high school and  college. That was hard on his body. Over the years he's had sixteen surgeries to repair the consequences. 

The weather on the coast was wonderful, especially for April. Outside of the conference, we did much hiking and walking. 

The conference has a mix of AA and Al-Anon speakers. I enjoy the Al-Anon speakers. Less so, the AA. The thought of heavy daily drinking makes my stomach churn, so I struggle to understand what drives someone to do so. I do not have that addiction.

While I have no problems staying sober,  many of my friends are in AA. There is something there for me to continue to explore. 

At work, my peer director is also leaving. Her last day is the end of next week. Our mutual boss has also not been talking to her. Part of me wants to negotiate hard to have them pay me to stay an extra year. The other part of me, the more thoughtful part, thinks this is confirmation that it's time to leave. 

My husband is recovering well. He gets tired easily and has some pain, but nothing unexpected.

This past weekend was Seattle's first nice spring weather. We spent much of Saturday cleaning up our decks and yard-- washing off the algae, pollen and mildew, blowing leaves, replanting some pots. 

Sunday we hosted a large easter brunch. It went well, plenty of good food. Most of the attendees were from AA. My husband has done a great job fostering his friends there .

Work... work is interesting. Since the reorg (a month ago?) the our boss has not talked to me or my peers at all. He remains fully engaged with his old org. My peers are not sure how to take this. Since I'm retiring, I shrug my shoulders and am just carrying on. 

I don't know that my boss is following up on my retirement. He acknowledged that I'm retiring when I initially told him, so he knows that I'm retiring. But then... silence. 

Even if I wasn't retiring, I would feel it was time to leave the company. 

Next topic-- I've been mulling over the following for a while. Originally I wasn't going to write about it. But it's sticking with me, so I will blog it out.

Yesterday my husband had liposuction and a tummy tuck. I'm surprised by my feelings around this. For years, my husband has worked hard to successfully get his weight (and stomach) into control. This last part of getting rid of the flappy skin was important to him.  I've never found him unattractive through this. 

I've discovered I have a slight aversion to cosmetic surgery. There are so many things one could do with the money instead. Plus the changes are superficial-- one still must have proper exercise and diet afterwards. 

I'm trying to set that aside and to cheerfully support him through his recovery. It was important to him. He had the money. 

He is doing well

 My question would be, "What is the alternative to the start-up?" And would it be as fuffilling?

The alternative to the startup is to retire-- travel, family, personal projects, volunteering, camping, hiking bicycling, reading.

The startup is interesting in that it uses the part of my brain that I have developed over years through my career. And there are parts of that job that I enjoy. 

I have a new option ahead. Saturday evening we had dinner with my old boss. He is building a startup company and quizzed me on my interest. 

He knows how to make startups happen as he has built and sold them before. He also has some interested from venture capital and is talking to a few people who I respect. 

We had a good discussion. No promises. Just mutual interest.

The next morning my husband and I had a conversation on this. Me potentially doing a startup would be a big impact on our retirement. My interest is a little unsettling.

Sunday we hosted a retirement party for my husband's friend and AA sponsor. After she retires, she is leaving Seattle and moving back to the midwest to be with her family. My husband will miss her. She was a good person. 

  

how did she leave the country? roderick

That was a logistical adventure in and of itself. 

Internet connectivity was crappy while she and my brother were planning. Sometimes they could only exchange a couple text messages at random times during the day. As a result much of the planning had to be done on faith. My brother had to buy airline tickets and not learn for a day if she received the itinerary. 

Weeks ahead of her departure, she bought and set aside the gasoline that she needed to get from their house to the airport.

My brother found a small regional flight from Cuba to Cancun. Once she was in Cancun, she took a regular flight to home. 

My Sister-in-law is back from Cuba. My brother has this to say...

...She made it back. She seems to have both a sinus infection and an allergy issue right now she’s itchy all over and she’s on penicillin and an anti allergic or antihistamine type medication.

When she got home pretty much the first thing she did was shower and clean up. She doesn’t believe she fell asleep in the last 34 hours before arriving home. And she seems to be only waking up for her alarm to take her medication

But yes, it’s good to have her back. And I’m glad there was no major issues on the flights back

This is a bittersweet moment from them. Her father has late stage 4 cancer.  We don't know how much longer he'll live or if she can travel back to Cuba when he passes away.

I have submitted my retirement notice.  The suggested an end date is June 30th, though I'm willing to work with them to hire and mentor my replacement.

I've been mulling retirement over for a while. Late last week I was asked to put together my org's long term compensation budget (Compensation paid out over the next two years) By announcing my retirement now my boss can allocate my future long term compensation to other people-- give them a little raise so that maybe they are more inclined to stay around after my departure. 

When I met my boss this morning to discuss the budget, I informed him of my decision. He sighed. He quizzed me a bit. We talked a little about the budget. Mostly we discussed my future plans and what changed that I decided to pull the trigger.

We have learned that the Washington State Ferry System offers memorial services. For a fee and with a little planning, they will pause the ferry, let you scatter the ashes and then sound the ferry's whistle to honor the occasion. 

What a fantastic way to scatter my mother-in-law's ashes.