My review of 2018

Here’s hoping it’s not too late to post my review 2018, there’s no denying it has been an extraordinary year with many unexpected events and blessings. Alas it has been a year almost devoid of cycling.  As I’m always looking to the future, I am hoping this will improve.

As for reviewing 2018, it is probably easier to break it down month by month and needless to say I’m already looking forward to whatever unfolds in 2019!

January

our snowy garden

• January included Hannah’s 18th birthday, a very special time for her.  She was resident at college, so we couldn’t resist going over to say hello
• My birthday, we had a day out at Brighton which included playing on the beach and an amazing lunch – fish and chips in Harry Ramsden’s
• Our eldest daughter Becky got engaged!  David and Becky will marry in August 2019
• At my work in the Council, I had my annual external audit which was fine but always an anxious time.  Most of my providers were underperforming and I started the process of commissioning additional work in order to balance the books at the end of the academic year. I wasn’t really enjoying my job very much – the Council gave little freedom for innovative approaches, very risk adverse etc.
• We had a discussion with our financial advisor.  I asked if they could crunch some numbers to see if I could retire in a couple of years.  Rachel kindly interrupted the discussion by asking them to run the calculations on the basis of me retiring now.  I never realised until much later how that meeting would prove to be so profound
• After a couple of weeks, we heard we were in a position to retire.  I was astonished.  It would mean some economies, however.  With our pensions we were in the slightly bizarre position of, if we both retired at our normal retirement age, our annual income would be more than we have now.  We recognised how some people we knew never lived that long and there was a strong case for retiring early.

February

Becky, Hannah and David

• A quiet month for me but busy for Rachel sitting her Royal Horticultural Society exam.  We had to wait until April before we found she’d passed with flying colours.
• We saw both of the girls visit for a kind of half term break, always nice having them around.

March

• We had a nice little holiday in Rome.  When we arrived at our hotel, they confessed our room was double booked for the first night and had arranged for us to stay at a much nicer hotel.  That was lovely and we even had the use of a private spa!  When we returned to our original hotel, they upgraded us by way of an apology. The weather was a bit cool and rainy, nevertheless I managed to get a few nice early morning runs in.
• Hannah phoned us to say she had passed her driving test and was absolutely delighted – and so were we!  Although it was her third attempt she passed without any minor faults whatsoever.
• We celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary
• At work I found myself in an awkward position of having spent quite a lot of money, making up for the under performance of some providers, their collective performance picked up and I was at risk of over spending.  Now there were a number of options and it was a very defensible strategy but it was still a nail biting time for me.  It seemed I was having to carry complete responsibility for this and it was another reminder of the ridiculous position public sector middle managers find themselves in
• I applied for the Flexible Retirement scheme in the Council in order to reduce my hours.  My request was refused

April

• Hannah was successful in passing her Dingy Instructor Award which will turn out to be a key qualification in her career
• Hannah also went on a sailing trip with her college.  She was sailing off the coast of Croatia.  This was the first time Hannah had been helming on the open sea and thoroughly enjoyed it
• As soon as Hannah returned from Croatia we whisked her off to the Menai Straits in North Wales where she started working as a trainee sailing instructor
• I attended a hospital appointment for what I thought was to be a routine appointment to do with my kidneys and where nothing would come of it.   I never imagined it would have such far reaching consequences.  Neither did I expect to be told they wanted to admit me immediately!
• While I was in hospital, Rachel and I agreed on a decision.  I decided to quit work.
•  I started this blog and did the early posts from hospital using my iPhone.  Not really ideal but it worked okay and I had plenty of time on my hands.

settling into hospital

May

Somewhere in Snowdonia

• When I returned to work I handed in my notice.  This surprised quite a few people and people started asking questions as to how I could possibly retire at 56.
• At the Council we sorted the dramatic upturn in performance by successfully applying for extra funding.  My manager was cross with me and I thought it was a tad unfair on me.
• While in hospital I was told I could expect my prostate operation in May but this turned out to be wildly optimistic.
• I saw the kidney consultant for the second time.  He commented how my case had raised a few eyebrows as my Doctor should have realised what was going on. He thought my kidneys would settle down with creatinine being around 160.  Turns out that was a bit optimistic as it has settled at 180-5.  I will be under the care of the Renal Team for life.
•  I spent May trying to get used to having an indwelling catheter in me on an almost permanent basis.  It was there all the time and could only be removed by a nurse.  It was horrible and I cycling was agony.  Running was problematic.

June

Our economical entertainment

• June was okay at work although I was becoming impatient, wanting to work through my 3 month notice period as soon as I could.  Performance wise things were okay and the projections were back on track. I noticed how some relationships were changing as I was working out my notice period
• Hannah completed her college course and returned from North Wales for her graduation.  Would you believe she survived two years of outdoor stuff without a scratch and then broke her arm during the celebrations.
• Becky came back from her second year at University for a nice long holiday, mostly at home
• I had my first Urinary Tract Infection, yuck.
•  I pulled out of the St Albans half marathon, this is the only race I’ve ever cancelled and I hated having to do this.

July

I’m retired!

• More birthdays with Rachel and my mother early in the month, followed by Becky towards the end of the month.
• By July the 2018 heatwave was in full swing and I was thoroughly enjoying it, including through having some runs after work
• Becky was kindly invited to join the Shotter family on their family holiday in South Africa.  I believe this is an unforgettable experience
• I had my last day at the Council!  Hereafter known in our house as the “blummin Council”.  Driving home was incredible and I could hardly believe this retirement was really happening
• I drove over to North Wales to see Hannah for a few days, including a lovely hike up Mt Snowdon

August

• We enjoyed getting into retired life and being frugal – good fun too!
• We did lots of socialising and pretty much stayed at home
• Some expected me to buy a Harley Davidson and head off to Europe (if I had a motorcycle licence this would have been seriously tempting!)
• This month I had 8 appointments at the hospital. This included various scans including an MRI scan, a CT scan, blood tests and a closer look at my prostate
• We did quite a lot of painting and gardening at Rachel’s Mum’s house
• Rachel and I also spent far more time with each other, one of the gifts of retirement. Definitely a sense of one season in life changing into another

September

• We had a little multi purpose holiday in Cumbria with the girls.  We picked Hannah up from North Wales and she joined her old school for a hike up Scarfell Pike with some camping thrown in, all meaning she could then complete her gold Duke of Edinburgh award.  With Becky we could help her work through her choices for the modules in her final year of Maths at university
• When we were heading back home, we dropped Hannah off in North Wales and again stayed there for the night, in one of the staff houses, complete with spiders in the spare room
• Once we were back home, we had a fast turnaround and took Becky back to university
• The house seemed so quiet and tidy!
•  I joined the art group and the Christians Against Poverty group

October

• Loving the autumn colours with a few runs, now my mojo is returning
• Only after these 4 or 5 months do I now start to feel retired and leaving work behind in my mind
• I submitted a formal complaint to the hospital around the delays to my operation and the problems with communication
• I started volunteering in The Way Coffee House.  This is a not-for-profit cafe owned by our church.  It is a contemporary coffee house serving genuinely really nice coffee which undercuts the likes of Costa
• We had a flying visit from Hannah as she was heading off on a climbing holiday in Spain.  I love her lifestyle!
• We visited Becky at university and have continued clocking up more miles than we ever anticipated. In fact I was budgeting on less miles, not more!  I think we have done just over 20,000 miles in the last 12 months

November

First outing after my operation

• A month dominated by having my prostate operation. It took me much longer than I imagined to recuperate and this really took me by surprise.
• After a couple of goes, I was able to get rid of the indwelling catheter for good but unfortunately I need an intermittent catheter.  I haven’t really blogged about this yet.  There’s much to say about this but I am not sure I’m ready to go public about it.
•  I became a FRSA and hope this will lead to me being involved in some engaging projects leading to real social change in our society
• I started the process of becoming a trustee in a local charity

December

• Seriously proud of my girls!  Becky was involved in leading the Exeter Carol Service in front of over 3000 people in the football ground
• Hannah came back for a ceremony at her college.  She had been awarded an exceptional achievement award for sailing
• The hospital formally wrote a very nice letter to me regarding my complaint. They had thoroughly investigated the points I had raised.  My complaint was upheld in all respects and they explained the steps they were taking to improve their processes as a result. This is a reminder that if we complain in the right way, we can genuinely help support our public services
• We have had a lovely Christmas together.  Next year will be different as Becky is set to marry and a real delight in seeing our girls take their steps in the world.  A poignant time with our elderly mothers joining us.
• Today, 31 December, Hannah is in hospital having two wisdom teeth removed.  A full general anaesthetic operation and a huge step for her without us being allowed to wait with her.
• Had my first bicycle ride since April and it felt so good!
• Started running again but over did it, causing an injury but hope to start again soon, perhaps more gently this time.

Looking towards 2019

I love life.  Even now I almost have to pinch myself to think I have been able to retire at this relatively young age.  I have blogged before about this and have asked why this could happen, knowing how God is in charge of things.

Naturally I am an optimistic kind of person but having a happy meaningful retirement won’t happen by itself; I need to work at it and try to maintain the right balance between doing useful things, serving others, staying healthy, being a good friend and hobby things.  I am not over planning things; need to leave space for those unexpected opportunities!