January 10, 2016

  • Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

    When I came home from the grocery store Friday, I found my husband at home, newly unemployed. Krysten and I had ordered a cake for him which I wouldn't let him see until I'd added the little figure of a Simpsons character in a nuclear superhero suit with arms raised in triumph. The cake had ribbons and confetti on it and simply said, "Woo Hoo!" Brett is currently unemployed by choice. He took a good, hard look at the coming year, industry trends, and the shrinking benefits of staying a full 25 years and decided this was the time to leave. We've begun a new chapter in our lives and our marriage.

    CHAPTER ONE: Brett & Melinda get married.

    CHAPTER TWO: Brett joins the Navy and Melinda learns she can handle the household and parenthood and being alone.

    CHAPTER THREE: Brett leaves the Navy with no job lined up and Melinda learns that her parents will not let their grandbaby be homeless.

    CHAPTER FOUR: Brett gets a job in Michigan and Melinda learns to trust him to buy big things (like a house) without her.

    CHAPTER FIVE: Melinda loses her job and learns that Brett is fine with her staying home and doing laundry and baking cookies.

    CHAPTER SIX: Brett leaves his job after 24 years to begin contracting himself out for short-term jobs at other plants and Melinda learns she's been preparing for this chapter for 35 years.

    CHAPTER SEVEN: Brett retires and he and Melinda travel and geocache and enjoy retirement until the money gets low and Brett gets a short-term contract to finance the next few months of retirement.

    We're at chapter six right now. I'm sure there will be more to come after chapter seven; I just don't look that far ahead. Brett's always been the one to think ahead while I'm more of an "in the moment" person. One of my favorite quotes is from an episode of Monk (although I think they borrowed it from either Andy Warhol or Woody Allen and, ironically, changed it a little). Mr. Monk says, "It's not that I don't like change; I just don't like to be there when it happens." That's exactly how I felt in Chapters two, three, four and five of married life. I am at complete peace with this change, though. Check back with me in a month. If Brett doesn't have a contract lined up by then, I might be singing a different tune. But for now, all is well.

Comments (14)

  • Wow, that is a pretty big change, but if you take the philosophy that it will all work out, it will. Maybe not the way you think it will, but then life is funny that way! You can't know what's waiting just around the corner. Congratulations on your newest adventure. Sounds like fun!

    • He hasn't burned any bridges, so if the contracting gig doesn't work out, he can go back to Cook. I'm pretty sure it will work out, though.

  • I have a close friend whose husband has been doing something similar. He is now so busy and gone so much that she wishes things would slow down a bit. May chapter 6 be a good one for you, and chapter 7 even better. I don't know what chapter I'm in, but last year had a lot of changes for me.

  • Congratulations to Brett on his retirement! It's a big, scary change, but it sounds as if the options were well thought out! Have fun geocaching and traveling -- and good wishes for some short-term contracts!

    • He's not actually retiring just yet, but contract work has always been part of his retirement plan. He's moving to the plan six years early and hoping for enough contracts to keep him employed full-time for the next six years.

  • Congrats Brett! Ya'll enjoy this chapter!

    • I think he's going to enjoy that he doesn't have to get up and scrape snow and ice off his truck in the dark Monday morning!

  • Wonderful synopsis of the book of Melinda & Brett. I'm hoping you don't get too lonely when he is off on a training assignment. Maybe we'll have to get together and do more geocaching... maybe even during the week! (I just checked and I have 6 weeks of unused vacation. I'm not accruing any! I didn't take off vacation when Sparky was unemployed so I'm going to have to do something between now and July! Maybe Leap Day??

    • I think there is a Leap Day event to conclude a TB race Brett and I are competing in. I'll have to look that up. I'd love to do more geocaching - I'm slowly closing in on 2,000. Maybe I can arrange it so GeoWoodstock is my milestone.

  • Retirement, and change in general, often cause a mixture of excitement and worry. I wish the two of you the best.

    I know you used to write about volunteering at Red Cross, taikwando, pool classes, and lots of baking/canning. Perhaps now that your daughter is grown and doesn't need you at home, if your health allows, you could take on a part time job to help offset expenses, and lessen the worrisome thought of the part of ch7 where you have Brett going back to work after a long earned retirement.

    p.s. I love that you mentioned Monk. I have several seasons of that show on DVD, tucked away. Now I think I want to pull them back out again.

    • He hasn't actually retired yet. This is Chapter 6; the phase between full-time employment and retirement, where he'll be looking for contracts that will keep him employed full-time but allow him to see new people and work in different places.

  • @saintvi: AMEN to that!!! What a great first Monday of unemployment.

  • WE are preparing for retirement here too ~ seems pretty complicated at the moment ~ lots of red tape to process through, but hoping by spring, it will be peachy keen! :)

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