Okay, so it was a pretty shitty thing to do. And it felt even worse because the boss at the school (an elementary school) worked really hard to get me hired there.

She was amazing. She actually “stole” me from another school and even traded one of her employees for me. She worked with the principal at my old school to make the transfer happen.

But through all of it, I never mentioned my plans to retire early and start collecting my state pension.

About three months before I retired, I had a mid-year review. Instead of being upfront about my plans to leave, I just nodded along and talked about how much I loved the job.

I got the raise. Then I submitted my retirement paperwork. I only worked there for one year.

To avoid the awkward conversation, I did all the retirement stuff while she was on vacation. That way, I didn’t have to face her directly about it.

I do feel kind of bad about how I handled it.

But at the same time, I’m 55 years old now. I’ve put in my time, and I’m tired of answering to bosses—even ones I genuinely like.

Heck, I don’t even like answering to Lemmy admins, so I have multiple accounts across multiple instances. I guess I hate having to follow rules, workplace or hobby. lol

And honestly, being a teacher assistant isn’t a role that’s hard to fill, so it’s not like I screwed the shool over or anything.

I do feel guilty, but not so guilty that I regret it.

Because not having to work for the rest of my life is awesome.