Getting ready, Easter prep and the meaning of retirement

Only 11 days now until the start of our April inter-rail trip and things are beginning to really take shape. I met a friend for lunch yesterday who was in Rome a few weeks ago, and was able to supply some helpful tips about which sights to prioritise and how to make best use of the transport system. She advised that if we want to use our time wisely it's advisable to book for the Vatican and that we really should go there as top priority. I have a cousin in Rome who I haven't met for about 12 years and we had a loose arrangement to meet for lunch while we are there. I contacted him yesterday and we've now agreed on a date to meet and have booked the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel for the full free day. My cousin and his wife are going to take us round the area they live, to the south east of the city, which we wouldn't have been able to do under our own steam.

My new hold-all on wheels is to be delivered tomorrow so as soon as I have it I can start to pack into it the little piles of things I've started to gather together. Last week we had a delivery of the non-euro currencies we will be using, i.e. Swiss francs, Danish kroner, Swedish kronor and Norwegian kroner, and as we don't really have a clue what any of these are worth, we are likely to be more reckless than with the euro, that we've come to know and love. From what we've heard about the costs in Scandinavia, we will probably have no choice but to be reckless if we want to enjoy ourselves and partake of the local goodies.

This past week has been a busy one and next week will be the same as we approach the Easter weekend and holiday. Both our sons are coming home from University this week and our daughter will also be coming back at the weekend for a rare family reunion. It is also our youngest son's birthday on Saturday and my sister and her daughters are joining us on Easter Sunday, so I am busily stocking the freezer and preparing food for the celebrations.

On Thursday one of my colleagues retired from work and it was great to be able to go along to her farewell event and wish her well. She didn't work in the same department as me, but when I first joined the organisation in 1990 she had been doing the same job a couple of years before I was recruited and her name was on a lot of the documents in the files I was working with. She had also occupied the same office I was allocated to so I felt I knew her, although I had never actually met her. One of my colleagues used to talk about her and what a great person she was. She subsequently returned to the organisation to a different role and I had also moved on, to the Personnel Office, but we met through our jobs and immediately "clicked." She looked on Thursday the same way I felt on my last day, excited and full of anticipation, but with that question, "What will it really be like?"  I have no doubt that I have done the right thing and am enjoying the choice and freedom that retirement brings. As my friend said in her farewell speech, it's like the other side of taking your first job after University, when you suddenly realise that you have to  be in the office from 9 till 5 and your control over what you do, when, has gone. With retirement, it's like taking that control back and that choice and freedom is incredibly liberating. Looking forward to some lunches with her after the travels!