Well it's official. I will retire at the end of this school year. This was not the original plan. I had always figured that I would stay another year or two. But when the technology coordinator position was abolished, the handwriting was on the wall. I was offered two other positions, but they would not have been as challenging or satisfying, so I decided to leave the district.
I am looking forward to retirement. With so many hobbies waiting for me (genealogy, beadwork, gardening, calligraphy, digital photography, and more), I will get up in the morning and choose which ones to work on that day. With my computer skills there are other part-time opportunities I could pursue, like consulting and web site design.
I will miss many things about teaching: the company of children, the camaraderie of my colleagues, the challenge of solving problems. Most of all I will miss the joy of helping someone understand something new, of showing how computers can help with individual creativity, of guiding children into the digital world.