My first workweek of retirement has been very memorable! It started off normally as my wife, youngest daughter and I cleaned up the house and finished leftovers following the New Year weekend and the Sunday night football party which revealed a Minnesota Vikings loss to the Green Bay Packers (sigh). We prepared to drive to […]
Author: Gary C
It ends with a dip in the Mediterranean (Part 1)
Probably like you, I’ve used goals to keep motivated. Some were related to professional development (e.g., a number of professional designation letters equal to or greater than the number of letters in my last name). Some were travel related (e.g., travel to all seven continents by age 50). And some were family or task related. […]
Making Vin de Noix
According to thespruceeats.com, an aperitif is “a refreshing alcoholic drink that is served before a meal to stimulate the appetite. Sort of a liquid appetizer, apéritifs may be served to mingling guests during a dinner party (with or without food) or while preparing your own dinner on an average night. They are also an excellent […]
And the day arrives
Today is Saturday, January 1, 2022. So, Happy New Year to you! For me, the day represents not only the beginning of a new year, but also of a new phase of life as today is my first official day of retirement. As I recently mentioned to a friend, while I’ve given this phase a […]
Challenges of Retirement
Retirement represents the upending of, perhaps, years of routine, of identity, of social interaction, and of those things that had importance in the context of a job and career. The big question is then “what do I now to meet my needs related to social interaction and purpose?” Or, more fundamentally, “what are my needs […]
Who is Kate Hill anyway?
One of the activities I undertook during COVID, as did many, was an increase in home cooking. In my case, however, the undertaking had its roots in retirement planning. I had begun researching and experimenting with charcuterie, the craft of salting, smoking and curing meat, several years ago. My guide for this journey was the […]
What’s in a title?
A reflection on the past 75 days. It was mid-September when we identified the date on which my successor would start at my place of employment. We decided that she would take over my roles effective on the date of our October board meeting, we would transition from mid-October to late December, and I would […]
With deepest appreciation (part 1)
When I reflect upon my career, I am in awe at the number of people at work who provided support during all phases. From the college to work transition, to the development within the Human Resources function, to the grueling law school phase, to the transition from HR to the Law Department, to the development […]
And so it begins….
Those who know me know that I’ve spent years thinking about and planning retirement. In fact, when my employer first implemented LotusNotes as our email system, my first password was, and remained for many years, “retirement.” According to Hyrum W. Smith in his book entitled, Purposeful Retirement, there are two “camps” of retirees: those who […]
Creation of the website
The idea of a post-retirement website arose many years ago. In fact, the legal entity “Beautiful Leaf,” along with its related DBAs, was reserved several years ago, as was the domain name “beautifulleaf.net.” The website is a work in progress and will, hopefully, mature as I do!