On October 1st I left full time employment with Air Methods, and slipped into the realm of the lifestyle careerist. Not fired. Not disgruntled. Not downsized. Just hung up my helmet and bid farewell.
Which sounds crazy, of course. Crazy because semi-retirement at the age of 46 is not something one is expected to contemplate or even consider contemplating, which is exactly what I was doing (not contemplating it) until it arrived on my doorstep and rang the bell. Several times.
The transition was undeniably painful. When faced with the choice between doing something you love, vs. the chance to experience and do other things with your life, it's a choice between the day-to-day practicality of a job (a great one, in my case) and the existential unknown. The palpable vs. the theoretical.
But I don't want to wax poetic about it. I am happy with the decision, and I look forward to whatever it is we come up with for our future, as long as it doesn't involve shopping malls on Black Friday.