Today is my 55th Birthday and with it I have reached a privileged position. I am a contributor and beneficiary of a defined pension that allows me to officially retire! It has been close to 30 years of working and contributing to the public good through my efforts in health care. I am thankful that overall there were few moments that work required me to compromise my values.
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Now that I can officially retire there is a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, but also some trepidation. I am now in the twilight of my career and my working life will soon be over. While I don’t plan to retire right now, I am sure that I will retire in the next 2 to 3 years. There is still some work to do and it can never hurt to pad the savings accounts!
My identity will need to change, a rebirth essentially will be required. This is a crossroads moment and I need to begin thinking on who I will become when I do retire. Below is a poem I wrote to commemorate this moment.
I also wrote two other poems: Mid-Century Contemplation and Middle of the Muddle which you’re welcome to read.
The Borderland
by Chris Billows
My birthday has now arrived,
and the birthyear says I’m aged fifty-five.
This birthday has a peculiar feeling,
for year fifty-five has a special meaning.
If time is a place, this place feels different.
I’ve now passed a threshold that is significant.
This year means that I can now retire,
from a long working life that I require.
To work or to retire exists a borderland,
I must enter and heed each realm’s command.
What shall I do? New possibilities exist.
Retirement beckons, but some doubts persist.
Endless vacation? That would be strange.
To do such a thing would lead me to derange.
For purpose matters, no matter where.
Defining what that is, shall be my new care!
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