Retired

 

I have officially retired. Sort of. Not from soap making, but from my day job. Let me give you the back story.

For the past 20 years I worked days for the science department of the North Shore School System.  One night a week for the past 12 years, I worked at Farmingdale College. And I also started Alegna Soap® 10 years ago.  I honestly don’t know how I did it for so long.

It helped that my day job was only 10 months a year and I had summers off. Cooking meals for the week on weekends helped too, and so did lowering the cleanliness standards of my house.  Asking my mom and sisters to wrap soap and my husband to make deliveries was essential also.  I spent my lunch at work writing blogs, detailed “to do” lists and making phone calls.  We ate out more than we should have, and I’m embarrassed to say the only exercise I got was walking around school buildings. I loved my job and the people I worked with, but something had to give.

So this past Friday was my last day. I turned in my keys. The department gave me a party and a gift certificate to my favorite yoga studio, Absolute Yoga.

Starting in September, my retired life will look like this.  Doing more walking and yoga. Working 2 days a week at the college and making lots more soap.  I really want to build my soap business. Eating healthier foods and finding time to meditate. Visiting my grandson in Virginia and spending more time with my mom.  I’m liking how it sounds.

Today I’m grateful for the pension and health benefits I’ll receive for working at North Shore. They allow me to continue on my soap making journey with a safety net beneath me.

What are you grateful for this week?

 

Yours in Gratitude,

Angela