Covid was a blessing and a very sad time in my life.
I was one of those IT Consultants that traveled every week to different Client sites and "helped" them with their technology problems. I actually loved doing it and we made good money for the past 20 years, saved a ton and was looking forward to retirement. Along comes the shutdowns and now I no longer have to get up on Monday at 3 AM to catch a plane to somewhere and then try and get home on Thursday night. Now it is all Skype and Microsoft teams virtual meetings and I was a big fan of this technology. It worked for me like a charm and never missed a beat with the Clients. I did miss the face to face interactions, however the offsetting ability to be at home and sleep in my bed and be with my wife and not spend endless hours traveling was awesome. (She might have an entirely different opinion of all this!)

We both got Covid several times and to us they were just like severe colds and we got over them quickly, stayed home and keep on doing our thing.

My father, an army veteran, in his mid 80's succumbed to the effects of Covid, while living in an assisted living facility that had taken great precautions, however one little slip and it went through there very quickly. He is interred in the Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly Michigan. I do miss him and he would have loved playing with his great-grand children and being a general pain in my ass. ;-)

Fast forward to last year, I was planning on retiring about March 2025 anyway, the Company comes out and offers a "Early Voluntary Retirement Program" for those meeting certain service and age requirements that I fell in with. The words "Early Voluntary Retirement" in the email were repeated about 50 time so I read between the lines and we also did the big spreadsheet and realized that retiring a year early was a huge opportunity for us and we accepted it on a Friday. On Monday, we got an email that I was a "critical" employee in my current role and they needed more time to find a replacement. I extended my end date by 3 months and was able to get a person trained up to take over on the project I was on and it all worked out.

I did spend the last 2 days of employment and the first day of retirement in the hospital with Heart issues and that has really changed my whole outlook. Now I am exercising and walking a lot more, eating less, losing weight and getting into better shape than I have been for a long time. Quit drinking about a year ago and have to say that I do sometimes miss a fine bourbon over some ice every now and then, however the benefits outweigh the negative effects on my body and my relationships.

I am truly blessed by how we managed through this crazy time and looking forward to many more good days ahead. Please make sure to take care of yourself and your loved ones and keep praying and moving forward.

Kelly123