It's been 24 hours since I notified my principal of my intention to retire, and I still can't talk out loud about it without getting choked up.
Count on teachers to recognize the value of verbal processing and wait time, though. Every colleague I've told has said they were happy for me and sad for our school. Then they waited until I was composed enough to talk about why I decided to retire now and what might be next for me. Each of these conversations has helped reinforce my certainty that this choice is right-timing for me.
Even so, like every day in the past couple of months that I have been wrestling with this decision there came a moment when I was sure I should change my mind. "I guess I can still go tell the principal that I've changed my mind," I observed to a friend.
"I won't let you do that to yourself," he said firmly. "You've made the right choice."
Fortunately, I was convinced, because he was big enough to stop me!
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