A WICKED Retirement

Several years ago, my daughter introduced me to Broadway musicals. Though we each have different favorites, we definitely share one musical in our top five list. You may have recently heard of this clever musical, since they turned it into a movie. It was adapted from the book Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, written in 1995 by Gregory Maguire. He wanted to analyze the true depth of evil from the age-old concept of nature vs. nurture. By using an established set of characters from the 1939 version of the Wizard of Oz, he was able to create a story, or back story as it is, to look at the influences on human behavior.

For years, I have enjoyed listening to the amazing actors belt out the best WICKED tunes with clarity and diction. Whether I was dancing to the upbeat “Popular” song or dreaming of love with “I’m Not that Girl”, each song influenced my mood, as all music does for humans. For me, I have one particular song that continues to influence my decision to take this leap of faith into early retirement and world travel. Can you guess which song?

Something has changed within me

Something is not the same

I’m through with playing by the rules of someone else’s game

These words spoke to my heart when I realized I no longer had a passion for teaching. I was working but not enjoying my work. I was going through the motions as others were directing and not drawing on my creativity to blossom the minds of children or adults. Each Monday, I had to drag myself through the morning routine to get out the door and start the work week. Then, I would come home, many hours too late, and flip on the television. I was too exhausted to even think. Day in and day out, the energy and motivation to work in education melted like the wicked witch herself.

I’m through accepting limits

‘Cuz someone says they’re so

Some things I cannot change

But ‘til I try, I’ll never know

When Greg and I started watching Rick Steves Europe and other YouTube influencers as they talked of traveling adventures, we began learning and researching places they shared on the screen. Excitement began to bubble as I read about

• The city of Matera, Italy, which may be the world's third-longest continuously inhabited human settlement

• Emilia-Romagna the “food valley” of Italy

• The edge of the earth in the Algarve of Portugal

The more I learned about far off places on this earth, the less interested I was in playing the work-to-death game of life. An irritation had begun when I thought about work and excitement was once again bubbling inside me when I thought about travel. Then it happened.

Too late for second-guessing

Too late to go back to sleep

It’s time to trust my instincts, close my eyes and leap

Before I met Greg, I had signed up for a Rick Steves Travel tour, 21 days through Europe. I wanted to see if I could travel on my own as a single woman, and thought the tour could jump-start that idea. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and my trip was cancelled. As we began mapping out the concept of retirement and travel, I realized I could have done both on my own, SOMEDAY, but together, we could do it NOW. Together, we had the resources, brains, confidence, and energy to leap.

I’m limited, [but]

Together we are unlimited

Together we’ll be the greatest team

It’s time to trust my instincts, close my eyes and leap

Perhaps Stephen Swartz had an entirely different meaning when he wrote the lyrics. Perhaps when you listen to the song, you’ll extract a different meaning too. That’s what is great about music. It morphs to the needs of each of us. For Greg and I,

It’s time to try

DEFYING GRAVITY