I can’t begin to describe the almost dreamlike surrealness that comes with walking into a beautifully decorated restaurant and reading a BIG banner and cake that say “Congratulations on your Retirement!” YOUR retirement. This is IT. If you aren’t 1000% sure you are ready for early retirement, seeing the BIG cake at the YOUR farewell party certainly will seal the deal.
As I wrote about on Monday, my MegaCorp boss insisted on this big “to-do” to send me off into the sweet corporate good-night. It was a terrifically well-provisioned affair in the private room of a local restaurant with a buffet of hor d’oeuvres, deliciously rich chocolate cake, plentiful drinks, and a projector & screen set up for a little “show time”. While I was a bit hesitant about the prospect of a farewell party, it was absolutely terrific.
Given common connotations of retirement life, it does feel a bit like attending your own funeral. You are leaving the game and the humor flows from it. Folks from our Corporate Marketing team (old & new) took turns presenting my best of times (and worst of times) at MegaCorp in the most embarrassing way they could muster ;-). It was all delivered with a great deal of graciousness, charm, and appreciation. The kind words were really appreciated and will be remembered.
With respect to retiring early (@ 49 years old, heading toward 50), people continue to be quite surprised and VERY supportive. The whole party had a great vibe, some really thoughtful gifts (including another bottle of The Macallan 18!) and plenty of laughs. I stayed away from drinking much alcohol early on – so I could lucidly take it all in – but, before long I was doing my best Don Draper with an old-fashioned in hand.
The good company was joined with a handful of great friends and colleagues from the other MegaCorps I have worked for (over nearly 27 years) who also joined in the fun. It meant a lot to share the moment with people I have known over the course of several decades and drink in some auld lang syne.
Experts say that ceremonies play a powerful role in our lives in announcing and transitioning change. They play a critical role in bridging the past with the future, and facilitating our individual adoption of a new stage of life. I’m a pretty sentimental person at heart and this early retirement farewell party was exactly what I needed – it helps me move forward into the great unknown, while reminding me of the real connections I’ve made throughout my time at MegaCorp.
Image Credit: MrFireStation.com
MrFireStation 
You are appreciated! What a lovely send-off. Many more celebrations to come for you. Congratulations, Eric!
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Thank you SO much – it has been a great send off to early retirement!
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It sounds like an amazing send off and I am so sad to have missed it, and you … 🙂
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It was good fun & your presentation was great fun! 🙂 Call me for lunch or a beer next week.
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Sounds like a great night and even though you’ve been with MegaCorp for a short period of your overall career you’ve made and impression. Good stuff. Enjoy the last 48 hours of a company man. 🙂
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Yes, it was a great night – Thanks so much for the well-wishes!!
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So glad the party felt special to you! I totally agree that we need those ceremonial moments to mark major life events and transitions, and I’m glad your ceremony was a good one. Can’t wait to congratulate you on being officially done with this stage in just two short days!!
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Thanks so much! The last two days are just a formality at this point. I only have a couple meetings to drop into tomorrow, and then come in on Friday and drop off my laptop.
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Ha! With the power of Cerebro I have determined your first name Magneto – it is Eric! Hahaha!
Sorry, I could not resist… Congrats! It is a wonderful milestone to reach and looks like it was done in the nicest way possible. Seems your Megacorp coworkers will miss you greatly. I’m really happy for you. Earl
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Nice work, Professor X! Thanks so much for the well-wishes. 😃
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That sounds lovely, what a way to go! Counting down the hours now!
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It was fantastic – thanks for stopping by MrFireStation.com – it has been great to see everyone’s enthusiasm!
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The day is finally here time to enjoy the retirement gig your style
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Wow! Congrats on retiring so young. IT goes to show that it can be done with sacrifice, hard work, and persistence.
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Thanks – it has been a very rewarding journey!
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The title of your post caught my attention because of your age! We are the same age and I am working on making the decision to “ER” too now that I have reached “FI”. I liked what you said about ceremonies being a “critical role in bridging the past with the future”. I will likely not have any real type of party/ceremony because I have moved into a consultant/temporary type position for more freedom. Luckily I have many close friends from my 20+ year position with one school district that help me to stay connected. Thinking about “free at 50” is my driving force even though I have a bad case of “one more year” syndrome this week….
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I imagine it’s easy to talk yourself into “one more year”, but I will tell you that even though I’ve been retired only 2 months, it has been SO worth it!
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Thanks so much for sharing that! I may need to reach out to some of you who have “FIRE”‘d before I send that last email saying “no thanks” just to hear how you are feeling again!
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