Thinking back - Going on pension

Today I was sitting on my rock and it hit me, if I had the chance to do it 30 years ago I really would have moved. 

When we were young teachers studying, you had to teach in the province where you did your training. 

Young people today do not know how lucky they are that this law was changed. 

I love the sea, and always wanted to live near the coast.  I am not complaining as I really enjoyed my work all my life but it might have been nicer nearer to the sea. 

We use to rent holiday homes at incredible prices just to get to the sea, once a year.

Sometimes the weather did not play with so holidays were not always nice. 

Sitting in a house you rent and not being able to go to the beach was terrible for me. 

My wife always laughed as it did not bother her it just gave her some time to read. She was an adamant reader and it always looked as if we took the library on holiday. 

Then I had a heart attack and my wife stepped in. She said, you are now going on pension and we are selling everything here and building at the coast. 

It was nearly time for me to go on pension so I agreed. While she was organising selling the house and finding a stand that she liked, I kept teaching, with a passion in the last few months as I knew we were going to live at the coast. 

The children were not happy, the school children and even the teachers, but as I I still took a group of children to the cheese farm as promised years ago, I enjoyed it just as much as they did, but in the back of my mind I knew I was moving to the coast and that kept me very happy. 

My wife would not let me help with the house as she was to worried something would happen to me. I think she tried to get me feeling better before moving. 

She drew the house plans herself and had a lot of trouble getting them accepted, as this was another province and they did things in ways she did not know about, but in the end she succeeded. 

Then the school gave me this enormous party to say goodbye. They bought me new golf clubs as well as a beautiful new bag. I felt bad as I realised they had to really work hard to get all this money together. 

My golfing partner bought all these in Pretoria, it was about 150 km from us and they really made a big thing of this farewell. 

In the meantime I was getting a little better and really started looking forward to moving. What I did not realise then was how much I would miss teachers and most of all the children. So we moved and we started our life here at the Wild Coast in all its glory. 

In the beginning I always felt that I was on holiday, it took me a while not to miss my school children to much. 

I wanted to start teaching here again as the law had been changed but my wife said. I did all this so that you can rest be happy and live longer.

I do not want to live without you. I now help children who come to the house so I can help them with their maths problems and that make me feel that I am not totally useless. That is something you find when you go on pension. 

But having kids here at least twice a week and being able to help them make my life worthwhile. I have been on pension now for nearly 12 years and I am so thankful that my wife said she is bringing me to the coast. 

The air is better for you and I have my rock where I can sit and meditate. So if you are a teacher that has to go on pension, make sure you still have something to do with children, as they are so important to our life, they will always know what to do and you will feel better. 

I always said never get to old before you go on pension and I still say it. I have seen to many people work for so long and then they do not have a second chance in life.

Second chances are what every person need in life. You work your whole life; doing the same work if you get the chance to get a second time to do something else do it. 

To me the kids as well as steemit has really made me happy, and I can assure you I do not want to change anything at all. 

Hope you liked my story and may you have a wonderful day where ever you are, I am at the Wild Coast.   

 @Methusalem