I’ll admit it. I’m a creature of habit. Ritual governs a large part of my daily activities. These rituals range from choice of clothing colors to the order of my morning routines. Often the ritual is a statement of what I believe.

One of my most firmly established rituals involves my choice of coffee mug. During the week it doesn’t matter so much. However, on Saturday’s I always pick my globe mug, as pictured above on the left. To me it’s come to mean that I’ve got an entire day without structure – the world is mine, if only for this short period. I use the keyboard mug on Sundays because that was when I did church music.

So now I’ve got a dilemma. I’m retired. Every day the world is at my fingertips. Should I start drinking from this coffee mug every day of the week? Will it lose its significance?

I don’t think so. My last church job was nearly seven years ago. Yet, I still save the keyboard mug for Sundays for some reason. I’ve always said that when I retired from school work I’d go back to a church gig, so I guess I could argue that I’m just planning ahead.

The last day was a mixed bag. For the most part there were congratulations, hugs, and fond good-byes shared. I’ve had the pleasure of working with a fantastic tech team, and I’d put them up against any in the state. My immediate boss has been supportive and understanding, especially through a very tough year. Those are the memories upon which I will try to focus.

Unfortunately, there were a couple of exceptions to taint those memories – the last words from my superintendent were meant to be encouraging, but had the opposite effect. I hope the two people they have hired to replace me, both of whom seem like bright, capable folks, can handle him better than I did. I wish them well.

Rather than return fire, I’ve tried to be professional in everything I do right up to the last moment, making sure all of the projects I’ve started are complete, or at least safely underway. This brief paragraph of venting will be the only public exception, and now I’ll try to let it go. Folks keep telling me that I should feel elated with all this freedom. That may come in time, but for now I feel the need for detox and recuperation.

…and that process is well underway. Laura has been the fantastic understanding wife through all this mess. The last day of work she threw me a wonderful surprise gathering with friends at The Lazy Goat. Now we head out for a bit of travel, starting with a rendezvous with some of my classmates from the Governor’s School from 35 years ago at the College of Charleston. I may have to make sure that I pack my globe mug.