Roz's March Madness

March 2014 is a momentous month for me. I retire from my day job March 31. When I began with the company, way too many years ago to count, I was the baby in the office. Now I’m the senior.

I made the decision to leave three months ago. It wasn’t easy. I’ve had a long and interesting career in the airline industry, and my colleagues have become family. They are an amazing group of men and women. We have developed a team closeness, and support and care for each other. Not seeing them every day will be very sad for me. But, since my job is in the cargo side of the airline world, I won’t miss having to figure out the complexities of sending plasma to Djibouti, freeze-dried Tex-Mex food destined for the space shuttle, or miniature horses to Saudi Arabia.

Roz with some of her work family:

As for the future, I am excited about my new life. The first thing I plan to do is relax a little. Then I will tackle all the things I haven’t had time to do properly for the past few years. This list includes the mundane, like really, really cleaning my house, doing a more than half-assed job in my yard, and sorting out closets and drawers that no longer open or close properly because of the junk I’ve rammed into them through the years. On a lighter note, I plan to spend more time with people I have neglected (most have already retired) and visit friends and family, taking my own sweet time and setting my own schedule.

My already-retired friends assure me I’m going to be busier than ever, although I’m not sure that is my main goal. I was once a ferocious reader, but in the last few years I’ve managed only about one book every two or three months. Outrageous for a writer. I plan to load up my Kindle and go to town (or at least to my couch) and catch up on my favorite authors. I also look forward to going to movies and museums, during the day, with the luxury of those establishments being half-empty (except for the other retirees with the same plan).

But most important, I plan to devote the lion’s share of my time to writing. Currently, I squeeze it in on weekends and days off (hence the drawers stuffed with junk, where it can take me a good twenty minutes just to find a pen that works). 

My writing partner, Patty, has done all the heavy lifting so far (e.g., all that techy stuff I know so little about). Lucky Patty can now share her workload with me (after a suitable training period). But lucky me, I get to return to Val and Kit, as often as I like, without worrying in the back of my mind if the shipment of frozen yogurt I booked to Kazakhstan that morning will melt before it reaches its final destination.

We are currently working on the final touches to Lethal Property, to be released in April. This is the next mystery starring our two favorite non-detectives. And I’ve already located my webcam, which was hidden between a miniature umbrella and a box of unopened chocolate-covered cherries in my desk drawer. Val would understand; Kit would be appalled. But I’m ready to Skype with Patty and get to work.

Roz (with visitor Patty) in her home office,
 where she'll soon be spending ALL her work time.