Thanks so much for this article, it was just what I needed and perfectly timed. I have been on leave from teaching for the last two years and finally ‘retired’ yesterday. It was a tough decision but I had/have all of the emotions you write about. It was the timely reminder of my reasons that I needed because added to those is fear. At 59, am I really going to be able to afford to retire earlier than planned? If not, will I be able to find work? So thank you for reassuring me that scary as it might be, it was what I needed to do.