10 Things I’ve Noticed in One Year of Retirement

1. I am no longer surrounded by military people (or at least, obvious military and military adjacent people). 

2. When I see my home state license plates and people wearing my home state apparel, I still get a little excited, thinking they’re from my home state, forgetting I’m literally living in my home state.

3. I’ve learned and felt the definition of bittersweet over and over. 

4. I’m able to think beyond the next two to three years when it comes to the boys’ school in terms of everything: I have to really know the policies (whereas before, I kind of skated by just knowing the surface of them) and what they need to graduate; I can volunteer with the intent of getting to know the school staff and other parents (because before, I could just throw my beginning of the year donation at the room mom and ran away). 

5. If I’m weird to someone one time, I have been able to brush it off and say I’ll probably never see them again. Being in one place, however, decreases the odds that I’ll never see them again and if I’m weird to them once, it increases the odds I’ll be weird to them again and again and again.

(But if I get that many chances to be weird, then that must mean they either don’t think I’m that weird or they do and they don’t care.) 

6. I don’t have to think about what time it is where my mom/dad/sister are before I call them because we’re in the same time zone now.  

7. Thinking about what time it is where my mom/dad/sister are before I call them because I forget we’re in the same time zone now. 

8. I feel like I’m in a new phase of my life where I’m back trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up except, I’m no longer a twenty something who had no real worries and all my hair coloring was done by the stylist and my silver/gray highlights were intentional and not a gift from my children. 

9. For us, having family close by is quite wonderful. My twins are currently off to their grandparents house for the next few days. It is absolutely blissful. 

10. The best word I have to describe this past year: WEIRD. Anytime someone asks me how retirement life is, that’s the only word that pops into my head. I don’t know why I cannot think of any other word- it’s weird. 

*To read more of Erin’s work, Check her our on our Blog Homepage. If you want to learn more about the transition process, check out Milspouse Transitions.