Now an 18 year old is not going to be able to get his head around retirement. Apparently they were showing teachers a formula that would give them the time when they could retire on full pension. I remember the numbers I got when I used the formula. It was 1958 and I would qualify for full retirement in 1995. Now for an 18 year old kid in 1958 , 1995 was an impossibly long way off. It was something I could not wrap my head around. I was too busy having fun at the moment.
Well, time moved on. In fact, time moved on very quickly and 1995 did occur. As time was moving on I seldom thought about retirement. I was too busy. The teaching load was heavy. I was involved with professional development for teachers. I went to every conference I could find. I even went to a conference in Washington D.C. in 1992.
I did not qualify for full retirement in 1995 but finally retired in 1997.
Now time really flies! I've been retired for 19 years. Looking back to the start of retirement seems like yesterday. Looking back to when I was 18 seems like an unbelievably long time ago. It was. It was a very different time.
Who could have imagined that when I retired the world would be so much different. Technology changed things. The economy changed our economic status. I taught through the best of times as far as the economy was concerned.
I've been fortunate to have a pension and to have defined benefits. What did I know about this as an 18 year old?
I wish that 18 year olds today could look ahead and see the same opportunities that I had.
So perspectives give one a different point of view.
Here I am as an 18 year old with my first class.
Here I am in the summer of 2016 ...58 years apart.
