2WannaBRetireesinPanama: OH, WHAT A RELIEF IT IS!

The title of this post reflects how I felt last Tuesday and into the week. But now with nine inches of snow on the ground outside, and possibly another four to fall overnight, and then another clipper coming through tomorrow night maybe, I think I need to adjust the title to SNOWSTORM PAX THROWS ONE, TWO, THREE PUNCH PRIOR TO MOVE TO PANAMA! First and foremost, let me just say that I am so glad I was finally deemed non-essential for this storm. And there was a plan set in place as early as yesterday morning. We pushed the patients back so that we would work 11-5 if the snowstorm was a bust. But stay by the phones, because we may get the call not to come in at all. Ray got his phone call around seven pm last night that he was to go to work at ten am today. Then he got the "office is closed" call at six thirty this morning. I heard from my office manager at eight am that our office was closed (I was busy shoveling snow). Not like we can go anywhere. Our driveway is clear, but the snow blower on the street that we used to blow ourselves out of the neighborhood four years ago during Snowmageddon (since the plows didn't come for DAYS) isn't up and running. So we hang out together. Just like we will do in Panama haha

Back to the original title--if only I had written a few days ago, I would be staying more on track here.
It was with great relief that I told my employer that May 30th will be my last day of work. I started the conversation with "my house sold", and I was so happy that he was genuinely happy for me. He plopped back into this chair (we were the only two that had arrived to work just then on Tuesday morning), and he told me how happy he was, but then he said "oh no though, now when will you be leaving?". When I told him the day I was thinking (I didn't give any written notice yet), he was relieved. The receptionist/assistant that has been working in our office for the past six years (?) is finishing dental hygiene school in May. And when she gets her license, she can slide right into my position. We talked about the schedule because I was thinking, along with the office manager, that we should all avoid scheduling patients in my column until we know who will be working and until the new dental hygienist actually starts the job. He told me to discuss my schedule with the office manager, but he also said to just book my column. It was nice to hear he does want to avoid giving another temporary hygienist more days, because "I promised the job to _____". Great news that everyone is on the same page! And also great news that since I am leaving the country, not going to another dental office, and my patients love the office and can't follow me, I can call my patients to make them aware that I am leaving, and I can tell my patients as I see them that I won't be there in six months. This is huge to me. When I left my last job (because the owner was moving to Colorado and selling the practice, but it was hush hush), I could only tell my patients that I was "leaving jobs to be closer to home". I had worked at that office for sixteen years, and I thought I certainly wouldn't believe the story I was telling the patients, but this is what I was told I could do. Luckily, patients found me (once the owner sold) in Stafford and here I am eight years later still treating them (16 + 8=24 years!). Twenty-four years of an almost thirty year career is a long time to be treating the same patients, and I am so happy I can tell them face to face that I am leaving and why I am leaving.

After that relief of telling my boss and all my friends at work, I knew I would be able to sleep that night with a little help from a Tylenol PM (I had only about four hours of sleep the night before). I slept like a baby, and then every night (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) this week Ray and I have had strangers along with co-workers/friends coming over to the house to buy and to be given more stuff! Let's see what left the house this week...a desk chair, a wall unit of my parents with two chairs (Asian flair), ladder style wall unit, sleds, clock (a woman came over to buy the shelving unit and saw other things to buy along the way!), and a lot of things that were going to Goodwill went to my friends at work. They felt odd, weird, strange and bad for rummaging through my stuff. I told them "please, take it." I really do feel good knowing that the picture over my fireplace is going to hang on the office managers wall at home. And she is actually going to cook in the cast iron skillets and pots we have had in bins for so many years. And the dental assistant that loves candles, and the things that I had displayed on my shelves, will put it all to use in her new house when she moves this summer (and she has more Christmas lights to hang outside with garland now). The milk can will get sanded down and painted another pretty color. And the other dental assistant will put an oak shelf that was made for us above a door to display her things. The lawn mower will be put to good use as well as the water hose. I have friends that will use the Longaberger baskets when entertaining, and the Christmas villages will light up again (I stopped displaying them in the last few years.) I have another friend that has always wanted the three foot lit trees in pots to display outside her front door at Christmas time, so now when she plugs them in, she can think of me haha If I can't take it all with me, I am so happy that I know others will put everything to good use and enjoy it all. And what a huge favor they are doing for us! Less to go to Goodwill!

Today the shoveling of the driveway was done, my dresser was purged, things were condensed in my totes to be taken to the lake house in April and then sorted for Panama later, recipes scanned into my computer so I could get rid of the papers in the cabinet, cookbooks packed up for Goodwill, more things posted on Craigslist, and yes, I made a big pile for Goodwill in what was the living room. Ray seemed to be okay with this pile. Backing up to last Sunday, I was condensing and consolidating in the basement while he finished painting the area going down the steps to the basement. I took three piles and made one large pile for Goodwill. I was going to do the painting, so then I started looking for something to do. I soon realized, after his slight meltdown, that three little piles looks more manageable to Ray than that one larger pile I had created. What are we doing with this? Where are we going with that? We decided to agree to disagree. We went upstairs and cleaned three bedrooms (windows, sills, ceiling fans, bathroom that isn't used, vacuumed to ready the rooms for the carpets to cleaned) in silence. But Ray, being the great guy that he is, knew I was only trying to stay busy and help by making that pile, and he apologized. All better. We are both such hard workers, and we aren't lazy. We like to get the job done while we are able to do it. When we have the time, and also when we aren't at the lake house, there are things to get done. This is why I knew today would be a good shut in day to bring it all up to the front door (the Goodwill things). My hope is to get to Goodwill this week (tomorrow, but probably not unless a plow comes through). I also wanted to get to the Pawn Shop. Some things I am just not sure I want to give to Goodwill, and I don't know what will happen at a Pawn Shop (never been to one before to sell things). Probably won't get there either. Another time. For now, I will look out at the snow, watch Ray keep looking for the plow to come into our court (the mailman made it!), and dream about our future winters in Panama!