My mother told me she's going to retire in a few months. While this is hardly surprising, it was unexpected, if that makes any sense at all. Her boss is horrible, and what was once a nice job has since become a little bit of a nightmare. But I just had no idea that this was coming, that's all. She didn't either.
And, to a certain extent, this annoys me. I want to quit. Not all of it, mind you, but a good deal of the everyday boring uselessness that goes into getting an education these days. I want to scale it down to the basics, and actually get something of value out at a reasonable time use rate. But I Can't. I'm not in control. And that doesn't make me happy. It never has.
Bear in mind, however, that mother dear has endured this for a good deal longer than I have. She's earned it, if you will. Thrice my age and certainly a good deal more suffering in that time. She's finally going to call it quits, because she wants to and has decided she can get away with it. I don't get that.
And that's the annoyance in life: that we don't get what we want, and we don't have control, and it's all so damned unnecessary. We suffer, surviving our lives, until we finally die, having survived our lives, and not lived it.
Good luck, Mom. Good luck, everyone. May you find in retirement what you should have found in work.
