On Friday, (Yes… The 13th…), I put in my papers to retire…
Unlike the rest of the world, it’s not something I can request today, and 2 weeks later, be gone… “They” typically want a little over 6 months notice…
So, on Friday, I put in my request to retire, effective 31 January, 2013… With terminal leave, house & job hunting leave, and some out-processing time, I hope to be home before Thanksgiving…
Why January 31st? Well, you can only transfer to the Fleet Reserve (Retirement in the military before 30 years…) at the end of the month… If I asked to get out in December, it would be before my 1 year mark in Greece (My minimum tour length…). Plus, I wouldn’t get that January pay increase in my retirement pay…
The decision was a long time coming, and I had agonized over it since before I even got to Greece… But, in the end, I miss my wife and kids… Every day, Juliet tells me that she misses me, and Cristy says Juliet will ask for me throughout the day… I was very fortunate to be in Iceland for Alexander, so I never had to miss him at this age growing up… Now, I see that I am missing so much; too much…
But in the end, my paperwork is in… Though they still have the ability to “disapprove” it, they could only really keep me until the end of June 2013; though I don’t really see that happening… We are over-manned, and they are looking for ways to get people out…
There won’t be a retirement ceremony… I’ve never been one for those… I’ve always looked at them as a way to hold on for a bit longer… One last chance to be surrounded by the life we’ve always known… But, I am ready… There is a life I’ve always wanted waiting for me, so I won’t look back with regrets, or wishes of “just a bit longer…”. I won’t look back, only forward…
You can’t relive the “Good Ole Days” while you are still in them… The only appropriate way to relive my “Glory Years” is over a cold beer with friends… Nes, Jim, Jason, Pat, Kim, Melanie, Diona, MacNealy… All my friends from Iceland… One day at my place, I’ll buy the beer… Og fyrir allan Islenkur vinnur minn (Solla, Laufey, Friðjón, Stella, Mia, Kristin…); Komdu drekkir með mér, lika…
20 years has gone by too fast… The next 7 months, though, may not…
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