So, I turned 55 today. Another year older. The changes? Well, I'm seeing more doctors and seeing them more frequently and to be honest, I'd love to have a day or two without some small niggling ache or pain but that's life. Like many people my age, we've got our health issues but I'm pretty active and managing mine (hey, I had a great 8 mile run this morning :-) ).

Still, 55 is a big one. Yeah, I know, it's not 50 which ends in a 0 and is half a century so people seem to earmark it. It's also not 62 or 67 when social security can kick in for most people. Nope. It's also not 65 when you get all those senior discounts.

Fifty five, for teachers who started around when I did is that magic age that, if you've put in enough years (which I have) you can retire and start collecting unreduced pension benefits.

I mentioned last year that I was starting to think about retirement as a possibility. Of course, that doesn't mean getting out of the game entirely but if I go that route it means reducing my work obligations be they at Hunter or elsewhere. Regardless of what I do, I think I still have something to offer in terms of CS, the Tech Industry, Education, and the intersection of the three.

Regardless of what I decide to do, it's been a tough few years, and I'm feeling somewhat burnt out and it's calming and relieving to know that if I wanted to, I could now step back whenever it suits me.

So, now to do some hard thinking and have conversations about this with family and friends (yes, dear reader, I'll be reaching out to some of you) while I work to make the experiences of my current students as positive and rewarding as I can.