I have been waiting to write this post for a few months now. It started in September 2025 when I realized that I was burned out from work and needed to leave. I took a lot of stress leave and started taking anti-anxiety meds. At first I thought it was all me, and then I realized that in 26 years of government I had never needed meds nor that much time off. In December 2025, the Federal Government announced an Early Retirement Incentive (ERI) program that would allow people to retire without the usual penalties of not having 30 years in the system. I was an ideal candidate for this program which government indicated could start as early as January 15th, 2026. I began the process of waiting and January turned into February, then March, then April, but after jumping through all the hoops, I am now officially retired as of April 24th, 2026. It feels fantastic so far.
I have learned so much about myself over the last 6 months as I have prepared for this day:
- I had to remind myself that I never really wanted to work for government, but was absorbed into the system due to the salary and pension as well as the need to support my family.
- I also had to remember that the programs and workload that I signed up for years ago are no longer the the requirements for today's government. There is much more reliance on technology, social media and AI and with these new tools, comes the need to work at an ever-increasing pace.
- I also learned that for most of my career, I was given a lot of autonomy as the quality of my work spoke for itself, while today's Federal government relies heavily on monitoring of location and logins and requires specific office hours as a bum in a seat in an office environment, regardless of whether that is effective or not.
- I learned that while I always thought I could work just as easily in a group setting or independently, as I have aged, I much prefer to work independently.
- I have learned that when I started my career I was very extroverted and open to new ideas, while, through numerous unfortunate circumstances over the years, I am now very introverted. Unfortunately, most of my work, family and friends still see me as that extroverted person and I often struggle with who I am becoming and who I used to be.
- I have learned that while I started my career in need of finances to support my family, money is no longer the main goal for me as I have made enough and proven myself and have realized the value of slowing down, appreciating life and living minimally to an extent.
Overall, I am excited for what the future will bring. I do not NEED to work, but if the right option came along, I might entertain it. Whatever I do in the future I am hopeful that it will be fun and something I am personally interested in, rather than something to cover the bills. I am looking to travel quite regularly over the next few years as I have seen that the older people get, the more health issues are bound to creep in making travel more difficult. Particularly longer journeys.
I don't regret my time in government as it has served me well, providing a solid financial foundation to raise our family and providing me security as I get older. This is something that I am realizing that not everyone has as they age. I have also met some great people over the years through work and had some great adventures. Here are a few people and adventures that stand out for me at this moment.
- Grant Sweet, Julie Alford, Pam Mackenzie, Kate Flanagan, Carson Birch, Darren Gill, Fred Irving, Leah Johnston, Brian Evans, Alan Smith, Jean Kimpton, Christina Fontaine,
- Butch Postma, Caroline Landry, Nadia, Angela Campbell, Heather Connolly, Bruce Lyng, Linda Dennis, Dawn Lemessieur, Paul Patterson, Raymond Provencher, Brian McShane, Patricia Hearn, Claire LePage, Bob Brewer, Doug Hamilton, Joann Sampson, Margot Chiasson,
- Surita Maddox, Julia Hiscock, Danika Carleton, Nora Robinson, Charles Coll, Steve Kavanagh, Brittany Rotor, Tanya Leblanc, Debbie Wallace, Ghislaine Cormier, Rob MacAusland, Lloyd?, Allen Baldwin, John Hamilton, Emily, Lauren,
- Dan Winters,
Trips that come to mind:
- Vancouver/Victoria - CAP/Broadband - skiing in Vancouver and then going to beach. Cheryl came to Victoria as well.
- St. John's
- Quebec City - Broadband - walking around with Kazoos
- Oak Island retreat
- PEI face to face - ISED
- Various trips to Ottawa
- NL trip with Brian evens around western NL. port-aux-port peninsula. Skiing at marble mountain.
- NB - Tracadie Sheila with CAP - family came with me and I got upgraded to a chrysler 300 car and we stayed in a cottage. Great picture of kids running on the beach.
- Various white point trips. Bonfires, guitars, and almost getting pulled out to sea with Grant on boogie boards.
- Stanley bridge CAP meetings
- annual CAP inspections with grant. I rented the car, he paid for meals.
Overall, it has been an amazing ride over the past 26 years, but I am looking forward to moving on with my journey. Onward an Upward!
