Retirement: A New Era

Retirement has long been a dream. I never thought we would live this long, but here we are, and we are not as old as I always expected we would be. There is so much more to do and this is just the beginning... 

 



Celebrations and Gifts

 



All together in the Duke Mansion: Diana, Ruth, Traylor, Caroline, and Clara at
The Carolinas Healthcare System Retirement Celebration of Traylor
 Dec. 6 2012 at the Duke Mansion in Charlotte.
 




Michael Tarwater, Traylor, and Deborah Plousha Moore at the Retirement Party in the Duke Mansion, Charlotte
A toast: Here's to a job well-done.



 

 

 

First Day

January 2013 finally came and suddenly every day is a holiday. After saying for years, "I'll try that when I retire," and "I'll work on that when I retire," the time has come. First thing, he is learning to use his new i-pad to plan the next year of his life.

 



 

He's been planning for retirement since he was 28. Now, after a forty-year career in education, banking operations and human resources, helping thousands of others plan for their financial futures, for him the future has finally come. And though the economy has let us down in a lot of ways, he is as ready as anyone could be.

 

Now, planning can begin in earnest: a trip to Alabama to visit family, reunions of family and friends, a trip to California, to the wine country; a trip to France; a trip to Scotland. (There will also be short trips to Charlotte when he needs to get back to the faster pace of city-living. And LOTS of company.

It's Winter:

Football, Fires, Friends, Family, Food

For how many years now have bowl games in January been on work nights? Getting to work early was never compatible with staying up till midnight watching football. Now, that's an option. Hanging out with the dogs...

 

Bandit

Rudy

Celebrating sister Ruth's birthday on Jan. 2 instead of on New Year's Day, watching bowl games that last late into the night...Cooking your favorite foods and drinking wine every day. Well...almost.

 

 

 

But when cooking fine food is your favorite hobby, how much exercise will it take? Hey, any is better than none. Right?

 

 

 

Adjusting

 

 

So, this year, while the holidays are over, the vacation is not! The usual back-to-normal has been put off. We will get past this phase...after bowl season, when we get back from our trip, when the weather gets better...or will we? The anticipation is the best part.

  

 

Off they go...quick before the gardens grow!

  

Remember how it felt as a child when school was first let out for the summer? All those fun days ahead? Well, that's what makes this time so special: It's just the beginning with hope and anticipation all around.