Retirement

Sometimes I think I ended up as head of Lutheran Education for a major Lutheran denomination as a result of a fluke. For a very brief period (before it was ruled to be illegal age discrimination) the Church had a rule that heads of major departments had mandatory retirement at 65. My predecessor, Dr. Arthur Miller, got caught by that rule and entered forced retirement, the only officer ever required to do that.
One of the saddest moments of my stint as his successor was when he came to see me not long after I assumed office. He told me that he had taken a new job. He was going to be a door to door salesman peddling encyclopedias.

I saw (and still see) this as a tragedy Art was a man of great passion for Christian education. He himself earned a Ph.D. when few professional church workers made that choice. What he lacked in personal charm or charisma he made up with meticulous attention to detail, astute management of budget, surprising skill at getting larger fiscal appropriations for his department and great ability at hiring and supporting very competent staff.

And for that he ended up knocking on doors, selling books on credit.
Out of that came a personal resolve. I would retire at 65 by my own choice, not by bureaucratic rules. I would manage my finances so that we would not feel impoverished. In retirement I would pursue interests congruent with my skills and values.

That is how I planned to retire. That is how I have done it now - many times.