As of December 1st 2019 I have joined the club of retired people!  This club as I know it consists of  friends, acquaintences, patients, neighbors but one thing is for certain they are always enthusiastically recruiting new members.  Until it got close to that time for me i never appreciated how difficult the decision to retire can be!  I mistakenly thought you just evaluated your financial situation to make sure it is feasible, picked a date and started the count down.  My first retirement date was age 60.  But that date came and went and I kept working at my dental hygiene job until the age of 63.  People who gave their advice about figuring out when it is time to retire all said the same thing.  "You will know when it is time". Well it feels right for many reasons and I look forward to the next chapter in my life's book.  Who knows I may just write another book in my spare time.  My heart is filled with gratitude for the 38 years I worked as a dental hygienist and especially the 30 years with my last boss Dr. Biederman.  He and my coworkers  as well as  Dr. Steve  and his staff with which we have shared office space over the last decade + ...will be missed by me.  I will also miss my patients who I have developed friendships with as I watched their lives change and their families grow.  I am glad I took plenty of time to say goodbye to them.  It has been a great run and I have enjoyed being a dental hygienist.   We just celebrated the "day" of Thanksgiving.   "Retirement" for me,  will be more of a "refreshment" as I look forward.  Giving thanks will be more of a lifestyle or as I recently heard it put.. "thanks living". I am  thankful for you dear friends.  I am  thankful to God  for each age and every stage of life.   keb❤