Time to Retire
For the last four to five years, I had been telling my work colleagues that I would be retiring and moving to Italy. I almost did it in 2015, but then I undertook a challenging work assignment and decided to stay another year to see it through. I’m a planner, so I started to get into “serious planning mode” the end of the summer of 2015. This would allow enough time to retire in the spring of 2016 and move to Italy that summer.
On March 16, 2016, I attended my work retirement party and had a fantastic time. It was great to see so many of my friends and colleagues, many of whom I had not seen in years. My husband, Larry Godding, was there and my son, Nathan Godding, was able to be join us live via FaceTime since he was working from home that day in San Francisco. My staff and colleagues made or brought an assortment of tasty food, including wonderful Italian cookies and cakes!
As I had been telling my staff and colleagues about my preparations to move to Italy, I mentioned that we would be selling our house, selling or giving away all of our furniture, and taking only what we could fit into a 200-cubic foot crate. The crate then became the source of much amusement. What really could fit into the crate?
When the retirement presentation got underway, my work colleagues came up to me one by one and gave me pieces of paper for what they wished could be in the crate.
So what does this crate look like? More to come on that topic in another blog!
After the wishes, I gave a short presentation on why I was moving to Italy, including photos I had taken on several previous trips to Italy. My husband and I had chosen to live in Parma in the Emilia-Romagna region because it was between where my relatives currently live in the Milan-Desio-Bergamo-Lake Garda area and where some friends of ours live in Florence. We had also met a wonderful family in Parma and knew it was the place for us to settle down.
And, of course, I gave an overview of the planning timeline.
To conclude the presentation, my supervisors presented to me a plaque from the Governor’s Office and a congratulatory letter from the Secretary’s Office.
My last day of work was April 1, 2016, and that was no joke!! I had worked for the State of Wisconsin, Department of Health Services for the last 31 years. There had been many changes over the years and I had 12 different jobs during that time period. I left feeling that I had accomplished a great deal.
And, not to go unnoticed, my husband, Larry Godding, also retired at the end of the school year. Larry had been an elementary school teacher for the Madison Metropolitan School District for about 18 years. For his last four years teaching, he decided to become a substitute teacher so he could experience working with a wider range of students from pre-kindergarten to high school, as his intention is to teach English when we live in Parma.
Larry also worked at an after school enrichment program for elementary students called, “Best Brains.” The head of the program and other colleagues threw a surprise retirement party for Larry, complete with a commemorative plaque and wonderful homemade Indian food.
Larry concluded his teaching career on a very positive note.
Together, we shared our retirements and are ready to begin our new adventure!
