Yes! I am definitely off of my rocker! On March 1, 2012, I retired from the world that had been mine on a daily basis (except for summer breaks)--teaching! The reward and recognition from my district for reaching retirement was a choice of a clock or a rocker. I chose the rocker. I left teaching after my 57th birthday; some would say that the fact that I left my tenured job before I reached my 60th birthday and full retirement would prove that I'm blond, flaky or just plain "off my rocker." However, when I married my husband in 1978, I made a commitment to be a wife. Frankly, we have enjoyed 34 wonderful years of marriage. In the fall of 2010, my husband was commissioned in the Army National Guard as a Chaplain, realizing one of the greatest dreams in life. He, also a teacher at the time, in September of 2011, was placed on active duty in Butlerville, IN as the Chaplain of the Patriot Academy. He had my full support, but here was my difficulty: if he had been sent to Afghanistan or Kuwait, I would have been content to stay in our home and continue teaching and providing care for my adult children living at home during that transition year between the college degree and the real world job! But no! He was three hours away, and I was so close but yet so far away and missing out on my commitment of being a wife and missing out on the life of adventure that we have enjoyed all of our lives together! So, I retired mid-year, packed up just those pieces of furniture in our perfectly chosen retirement home in KY that we rarely used and moved into a 1960's ranch-style home desperate for attention and modernization! Yes, both my husband and I are metaphorically "off our rockers," but once I hit the town of North Vernon, IN, I have literally been off of my rocker!
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