Retirement

fireworks color

Here you go – Hannah M, Peg B, Andrienne D and Nina H are the three winners (I can’t count any better than Cherry Adair! But it is my birthday so whatever!) Contact me at steelestories@gmail.com and let me know which of the back list you want!!

Well it sure took its time getting here. After fifty years running one office or another, I’m out. Now please note, I really did go to work for Granddaddy’s company at the ripe old age of 12 – honest. It was a propane gas company and we also sold appliances. At first, my duties were to dust the appliances and fill the drink machine, but by the time I left at 22, I’d created the inventory system they were still using when they sold the company. It taught me a lot and gave me a great work ethic, which I’ve passed down, and I’m grateful for it.

Now hopefully I’m still young enough to do what I want to do – write full time. Yes, I’ve already been writing a long time. Ten years with fanfic from the X-Files and three years as a published author. That doesn’t count the early stuff, which no one will ever see.

I’ve made rules for myself and since I’m the boss, I have to follow them. Minimum four hours a day in the office with no Internet, TV and hopefully phone. If I’m on a roll, I can stay all day, but that’s the minimum. In the afternoons, I’ve promised to start cleaning out the house. If you’ve read Homecoming, you know why (way too much of me in that story). My kids would kill me if I left that for them. Can’t do the whole house in one day, but I can do that drawer, and tomorrow the next one. Baby steps. Maybe I’ll come up with a great idea for another story while I’m doing that. fireworks-4

I suppose eventually I’ll miss having to go into work – nyah, don’t think so. I do plan to force myself out of the house on Thursdays – hitch up the mules and go all the way into town and find someone to lunch with, then hit the grocery store on the way back since it’s senior citizens’ day. I plan to do more housework so Hubby and I can have the weekends free in the future, instead of doing it all then. I want to look like one of those people that comes back to the office looking 20-years younger and smiling. (Maybe they’re laughing at us).

And I want to finish up the nine stories I’ve already got started and are in one state of completion or another. I want them to be what keeps me up at night (if anything does) instead of what I didn’t get done because no one returned my call at the office.

Everyone tells me that I’ll be so busy I won’t remember how I managed to work full time anyway – we’ll see!

I’m celebrating – leave a comment and you’re in the pot for a free book – giving away 3, your choice of my backlist!fireworks-3

18 thoughts on “Retirement

  1. Congratulations on your retirement!!! I know you’ll enjoy writing full time. But be prepared or friends, family, and community organizations to now expect you to be “on call” for all their needs “since you don’t work.” Don’t give up a minute of your writing time! You’ve earned it.

  2. Thanks so much Hannah – I know what you mean . 8 to noon is mine and sacred – we’ll see about the afternoons. I have a plan, I just have to stick to it. I did swim for 30 minutes this morning already!!

  3. Good for you Donna – enjoy your well deserved retirement, I’m certainly enjoying mine…..best job I ever had. You are doing it absolutely the right way – a plan outlining what you are going to do, rather than just deciding to stop going to the office……keep busy and stay young 🙂 Love Ya.

  4. Happy Retirement! It is such a joy to have time to yourself, to do what you feel like doing, whenever. Enjoy!

  5. Happy Retirement Donna!!! I hope it’s everything you want it to be AND MORE. Can’t wait to read those stories you’re going to be finishing!

  6. You’ll have to ramp it up with me! I have big plans and so far I’ve carried them out this morning. I know a good habit is the easiest thing to break, but we’ll have to keep an eye on each other!

  7. Donna, we’ve been friends so long I can say I’ve read some of the REALLY old stuff! I say the mark of true friendship is that I’m not staying up nights plotting to slash your tires or something because you beat me to this retirement thing. I’ll be following you soon. You can teach me all about it. I guess it’s only fair since you are so very much older than I am. Enjoy!

    • Lay it on friend, lay it on… So far today I wrote for 4 hours after the pool. Then had glasses adjusted, PT, groceries, mailed a package and stopped at the pharmacy. So much for “free” time – LOL!!

  8. Hope this works. First of all CONGRATULATIONS on your retirement. I can say with 100% certainty that retirement is great. I hope you get to create with all those wonderful writing juices…….and enjoy every single minute of it. I know I’m looking forward to reading all you write. Can’t break old habits, I’ve been reading for years.
    P.S…..Thanks for keeping your X File site up. I still go to it almost every night for a story.

Leave a Reply to Donna Steele Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.