Yep, the day has arrived. I certainly wasn’t think about retirement forty-three years ago when I was ordained a priest. I wasn’t even thinking about it twenty-three years ago when I came to St. Thomas More as pastor. But thinking about it or not, it has arrived.
This morning I had the 8:30 a.m. Mass and there were more parishioners in attendance than at regular weekday Masses. They greeted me warmly after Mass and wished me well.
A few hours later, at 11:30 a.m., members of the staff gathered together at our Weis Center for lunch and fellowship. It was a great meal (Stracks catering always does a great job) and even better fellowship. It got a bit emotional as well as some staff shared memories.
And then, it was over. I went to the office and said goodbye to the parish secretary, walked across the parking lot to check on the status of the renovation of the rectory for the new pastor, got into my car and drove to my condo. Tomorrow morning will be the first day that I am not driving back to the parish. I’m not even going to set my alarm. The first thing on my schedule is an appointment with my eye specialist later in the morning and then dinner with friends in the evening.
We’ll see how this whole retirement gig goes. 🙂