So, tomorrow, October 19, is my birthday. The big 5 4. Okay, maybe it's not a traditionally big one. It doesn't end in a zero or a five but I think it rates.

Why? Because it's one shy of 55.

That's the magic age when I can retire collect my pension should I choose to do so. It's what you get when start young and put in over 30 years of service.

Will I?

A few years ago I would have given an emphatic "no." Now, I'm starting to think "maybe." I've written a few times here about feeling some burnout and a lot less joy. Part of that's covid and part of it's doing more than two full time jobs. Another factor is that by summer 2023, actually, summer 2022, I'll have pretty much accomplished everything I've set out to do here. On top of this, Devorah will be able to retire before I can so that also weighs in.

Don't get me wrong. There's a lot I like about Hunter and a lot I still enjoy about my job but there's stuff that's just wearing me down.

Regardless of what happens, I plan to stay in the game in some capacity. I want to figure out a situation where Devorah and I can travel more - my one big regret, but I think I've still got something to contribute to the CS Ed world.

If we can trim down my workload at Hunter and eliminate the things that stress me out, I could be there a long time. If not, well, we'll see.

For the time being, I'll enjoy tomorrow. Nothing particularly special - normal work day followed by a family dinner. Actually, whole family dinner is always special, just not unusual for us.