I retired from nearly 40 years in the Information Technology field in 2014. My last day of work was Halloween. I figured that was appropriate – it was one of the scariest things I had ever done!

I retired earlier than I ever planned to spend time with family. I know, how often do you hear that and think- yeah sure – but really I did!  My Mother has Alzheimers and if I wanted to spend time with her during her last coherent years then the time was now! Since she lived 1,000+ miles away I couldn’t do that and continue to work, so I embarked on a journey that included living in two places while attempting to build a life outside the work environment. Sounds easy enough, who doesn’t want to retire and travel. But after 40 years it is harder than you might think.

After a bit of struggle, months of downsizing (the amount of stuff you collect over time is extraordinary)  I got around to embracing this wonderful opportunity.  I started by writing a limerick a day for a year, chronicling this new life  and posting it on facebook and twitter @schlenkerdeb. I began to learn new things, meet new people, continue to figure out a few things about myself and at least started to identify what is really important to me. One thing that stood out was to pursue a lifelong dream of designing and making jewelry.

Welcome to my journey. I hope you enjoy following my progress into the future as much as I’m enjoying living my life.