Drum Roll Please

It's official! Greg's last day at work is THIS Thursday. We are beyond thrilled.

Forty years at the same company. Well, actually, forty years working for a company that changed hands five times. Like an indentured servant, he went with the furniture every time his company was sold and bought.

I'm proud of him. It takes a lot of fortitude to stick it out. He started out with the company as a smart aleck kid right off the street, and now he's the last of the old guard who knows where all the bodies are buried (metaphorically).

We haven't sold our house down south, so we're not free to say goodbye to SE Texas yet. Soon I hope. It's the last leg of our journey on the Gulf coast.

This is a huge change of lifestyle for us. For fifteen years we've been used to living apart. Now we'll be together 24/7. Oh, the humanity!

I should have plenty of stories to tell.


Copyright: ragnarocks / 123RF Stock Photo
There's the eerie, uneasy  feeling of living off our savings too. Did we save enough? Do we have a good investments manager? Can we continue to live frugally? 

It was kind of a cheat before. We could live frugally all week long and then splurge on the weekend, knowing we still had liquid assets coming in. But now we're working without that net. What we put away is what we have to live on for however long we last.

I can see me now, selling my blood to pay the taxes on Tara. Or maybe I can put the goats to work. I've heard of people advertising Rent-a-Goat to clear out people's brushy properties. And Iko could always get a job scorpion-hunting. Nana could retrieve runaway chickens and toddlers. 

Tank and Maggie? Completely retired, though they would make great nannies. Kids adore them.

For sure, I'll be keeping an eye on the bottom line until there's some sense of consistency.

It's going to be one heck of a ride, but it's one we've been looking forward to for a long time. I'm getting a husband! Imagine me, a blushing bride all over again. Ha!

What's the longest you've ever stayed apart from your significant other? Did you enjoy it or was it harder than you expected?

What's the longest you've ever been at one job? Me, I could never hold a job. :grin: 15 years was my longest stint. 




Comments

Marian Perera said…
Congrats on both forty years of work and getting your husband back!

The two of you can be full-time homesteaders now, like in Little House on the Prairie. With a pack of dogs rather than daughters. :)
Maria Zannini said…
Marian: Daughters might be more useful, but dogs are less trouble. :)

Re: homesteading
That's the plan. It's been kind of tough me handling everything alone. Greg's a big help when he's here.
B.E. Sanderson said…
Welcome to retirement, Greg! My husband says it's the best decision he ever made. And hurray for your new honeymoon period, both of you!

The longest we've spent apart was the first six weeks of our marriage. When we met, he was living in CO and I was living in UT. After a whirlwind 3 months, we were married, but I still had to wrap up the UT life and move to CO. That was 10+ years ago. =o)
Maria Zannini said…
BE: I can't speak for myself, but every retiree I ever knew looked better after six months of retiring than s/he ever did when they were working. I guess it's all the stress of a daily grind that ages us.
Angela Brown said…
I'm so happy for you and hubster. Getting to have your hubs home 24/7 will take some getting used to, but you all have lots of things to keep you busy (gardening, tending goats, rabbits, chickens and dogs, and maintaining the household), that is, outside of having fun as hubby and wife.

I've been with my current company a total of 13 years. It's been an interesting ride thus far.
Maria Zannini said…
Work is like marriage. Once you're past the 7 year itch it's all downhill. :)
My husband and I both taught for 35 years before retiring. Fortunately, we both love teenagers so that part of the job was good.
I'm excited for you though that worrisome bottom line is a concern for all retired folks.
I tell Dina she can never retire. She doesn't like to hear that.
Maria Zannini said…
Susan: How cool that you both had the same background. Lots to share and compare.
Maria Zannini said…
Mac: A statement like that is likely to put you in the doghouse.
LD Masterson said…
Longest job would be my 20 years at the Red Cross. Unless we count being married to The big Poloxk - then it's 45 years. Longest separation - 15 months when he was stationed in the Azores. And that was before we had cell phones and emails. We wrote letters! You're gonna love having him home.
Maria Zannini said…
Linda: Married life is a bit like a job.

I remember when Greg was away at university and we'd write long handwritten letters. It was the highlight of my day when I'd see a letter from him. Emails can't compare.
Unknown said…
Wow! Forty years is a long time. Congrats for sticking it out, even though you had to live apart. Any time you increase or decrease income, it comes natural that a family finds ways to maintain a comfortable standard of living.

Whenever I get a pay raise, I don't increase my debt these days, things are so iffy in the economy. Everything goes in the bank! lol
Unknown said…
Are you ready for a full-time husband? They can be a lot to handle. I've had mine for just over twenty years. They need good food and a lot of attention. :D It'll be nice to have someone around the house that doesn't walk on four legs and will actually understand and converse with you. :P
Jackie said…
Maria congratulations to you both, happiness means more than that extra income and I know for a fact you will both be happier together full time again.

You can still splurge a bit on weekends if you remain frugal during the rest of week.

Longest job for me was 5 years as we moved around for a lot of years when husband had a chance to advance in his companies employment.

Now having him change jobs again a month back am hoping he can retire in 5 years but not counting on it thanks to cost of living on insurance benefits and etc, we can dream though.

Jennifer Shirk said…
Well, that's exciting for Greg AND you! A whole new season of your life beginning! You'll do great!
Maria Zannini said…
Diane: That's the best way. We've always tried to live below our means. It was easy when we didn't have to do it. We'll see how it goes now that we do. :)
Maria Zannini said…
Darke: LOL! Yes, husbands are traditionally high maintenance.
Maria Zannini said…
Jackie: All we can do is take it one day at a time and try to make up for lost time. I can't wait!
Maria Zannini said…
Jennifer: I'm sure there will be 'growing pains' but we've been married longer than we were apart so I'm sure we'll work it out.
Congrats on the retirement! I hope you saved enough to have a bit of a party. ;)

As for spouses, I think two weeks is the longest we've been apart, and that was really weird.

For jobs, except for writing, I've never had one that lasted longer than a year. I'm a rolling stone.

I've totally had some properties I would rent a goat for. I think that's a fine idea. Maybe I could hire one of your dogs to be a nanny for mine, make sure she doesn't eat any more of herself.
Maria Zannini said…
Barbara:
Re: Maybe I could hire one of your dogs to be a nanny for mine, make sure she doesn't eat any more of herself.

That would be Nana. She drives everybody to distraction. :)
James Garcia Jr said…
Congratulations, my friend - to both of you. Wishing you nothing but the best!
The longest I have been away from my wife is about 4 days, I think; and I have been with Sun-Maid for 25 years now.
By the way, I'm super busy this week doing 3 blog hops. I've been getting a lot of wonderful comments on your cover work. I do my best to bring your name up. #justsayin
:)

-Jimmy
Shelley Munro said…
Congratulations to you both, and all the best for this next chapter in your lives.
Crystal Collier said…
40 years!?! That's epic. Wow. Truthfully, my husband and I decided early on that he would be the breadwinner and I would raise the kids, which included home schooling, so full time job+. I've done the odd job on the side around that, but working outside the home, I think the longest I was employed by the same company was 3 years.

I'm stoked about you getting to be with your hubs 24/7. I had to send mine across the country for 3 weeks when I was 7 months along with baby #3, and it almost killed me. Seriously.

Unleashing the Dreamworld
Maria Zannini said…
Jimmy: 25 years is a long time. You must've been underaged when you started. :)

Re: covers
Thanks for the feedback! Always nice to hear.
Maria Zannini said…
Shelley: Thank you! We hope to follow in your wandering footsteps and see a little of the world.
Maria Zannini said…
Crystal: I can just imagine you having to do everything by yourself at 7 months. Oy! I hope it was worth it.
Michelle H. said…
Congratulations for the new beginning! All the adventures you can create together. It will never be a dull moment.

Tank and Maggie could always cheer up seniors at the local senior centers. Imagine the bright smiles they would bring to the elderly.

Oh the fun times that are a-coming for you. Cherish every single memory.
Mike Keyton said…
Idon't understand it - not your wonderful marriage and joyful retirement - but the fact I posted a comment in Darkest Devon (painstakingly I may add) on my iphone with my big fat fingers. But it doesn't seem to have got through. Anyway, congrats again, and you'll probably find less to spend on when you're happy. Ref career longevity, I spent too long in teaching until I got off for good behaviour.
Maria Zannini said…
Michelle: Adventure is the right word. It feels just like it did when we first got married. Surreal.
Maria Zannini said…
Mike: I checked my spam folder, but nope, it didn't go through. It's a mystery.

Re: teaching
I'll bet you were missed.
FastBusa said…
"and now he's the last of the old guard who knows where all the bodies are buried (metaphorically)"

I still got that shovel!
Maria Zannini said…
FastBusa: I have a garden where you can use that shovel too. :)

I promise to give you a few days off first.
Crystal Collier said…
We survived. I suppose that's what matters, eh? (And let us never speak of it again. ;)
Wow, things are changing for you Maria. Congratulations. The longest I held down a job was 10 years. I left due to moving.

I have a feeling everything will work out for you well. :)
Maria Zannini said…
Suzanne: Things are changing faster than I expected, but it's all been good. :)