<div style="font-size:10pt;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;color:black;"><p><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">poem by
Alice Jane-Marie Massa<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"> <b><u>This is a poem of the struggle to
adjust to the reality<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>of
retirement.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"><b><u>The<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>author struggles with<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>what to do
with her need to lead.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"><b><u>She knows she has to let go, <o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"><b><u>but can’t separate her identity<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>from being a teacher, <o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"><b><u>which<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>puts her in the role of a leader. <o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"><b><u>However, one does not retire on a Friday,
<o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"><b><u>and give up a<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>lifetime<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>of<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>teaching or leading.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"><b><u>It is a process. <o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"><b><u>She recognizes that she has also been a
follower. <o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"><b><u>Her dogs are the primary example of<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>being a follower.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"><b><u>Nevertheless, she suspects that<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>in the end, <o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"><b><u>when she gets retirement down, <o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"><b><u>she will lead in teaching others how to
do it.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"><b><u>I must admit, this piece speaks to
me.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"><b><u>I was a leader in my field.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"><b><u>It took me over<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>15 years of retirement before I really
retired. <o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"><b><u>Yet, I have not given up a leadership
role.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"><b><u>When I do, I don’t know what will be left
of me. <o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"><b><u>as I suspect the writer of this poem
does.<o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">I am learning<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">to retire from teaching.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">I must confess<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">that, to me, retirement <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">is a process:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">retirement does not really happen<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">on one day, at one hour, or in one minute.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">All that led to this career of years of
teaching<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">must be unwound.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">I have found<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">that I miss the students, the hours, the
marking of time<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">by semesters, classes, and school years.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">Now I am learning to mark time by retirement
years:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">first year, second year, ... <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">on this new stage that too many people fear.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">Do you think I am learning not to lead?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">Am I learning to step aside, to sit back, to
avoid speaking up?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">Down the road, this will all be easier.
Right?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">I am left with all these memories <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">of leading,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">of liking to lead.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">Didn’t I even lead in ballroom dancing in sixth
grade?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">Now, I have to learn this retirement dance or
fade.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">Perhaps, what I need is a Flamenco outfit<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">(with lots of ruffles and beading)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">so that I can fit better into this retirement
mold <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">of not leading.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">Leader Dog Zoe reminded me<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">that I have been successfully and properly<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">following her, Heather, and Keller<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">for 23 years—46 semesters plus 22 summers.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">“That’s a lot of practice <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">at letting us be in the lead,” Zoe said.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">Of course, she is right; and I pat her pretty
head.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">Nevertheless, I guess, she usually knows my
stress.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">One stumbling block of this learning process<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">is that I was born a teacher.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">When I arrived in this world,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">Doctor Loving quipped,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">“One more—just like the other.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">Did he prophetically know that I was<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">one more teacher—just like my older sister?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">My parents—a postmaster and a firefighter—<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">gave birth to two teachers.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">My father nailed a chalkboard<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">to the knotty-pine wall<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">where my sister taught me,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">and I taught my dolls and dogs.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">Our models were those magnificent teachers<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">at Jacksonville Grade School,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">but they never taught us how to retire.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">Yes, I have always been a teacher—<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">in and out of the classroom,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">behind or away from my beloved podium.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">Whatever I know or have learned,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">I am truly compelled to share.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">So, when I learn how to retire from teaching, I
declare:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">I will teach you how to retire—without a care. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">* * *<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"><b>PAW-note:</b> In this poem, I mention
each of my first three guide dogs who have blessed my life. On March 21,
1990, Keller, a gorgeous golden retriever, became my first guide dog.
Happily, Yellow Labrador Heather, my second Leader Dog, came into my life on
April 15, 1998. On June 6 of 2009, Leader Dog Zoe--my outstanding black
Labrador/golden retriever mix--was the guide dog I was following, appreciating,
and loving when I wrote this poem. After Zoe, Leader Dog Willow became an
important part of my life on June 7, 2016. Each of these four gifted <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">guide dogs continue t<o:p></o:p></p>
<p><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p>Hello! Group 2 writer friends--Although I am including an introduction
to the poem, you may just comment on the poem if you wish.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p>Until next week--Alice<o:p></o:p></p>
<p><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p>* * *<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b>Retirement
Reflections and Rhymes</b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">By Alice
Jane-Marie Massa<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">
Amazingly, this summer marks ten years since I retired from full-time
teaching. Where has this one decade gone? How has it moved by so
rapidly? My Leader Dog Willow and I keep busy: sometimes, I wish I
were not quite so busy. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">
My sister, who is three years older than I, just retired from her teaching
career only one year ago. Of course, I say that she taught those nine
additional years because her pre-kindergarteners did not write documented
essays--term papers. Stacks of which I graded over many years.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">
On the retirement stage of life, I turned to other interests. Besides
trying to walk four miles a day with Zoe and then Willow, one of my favorite
past times--as you may guess--is writing. Occasionally, I do wonder what
I would be doing in these retirement years if I were not a writer and
poet. Writing is a wonderful avocation for a retired person. Being
active in writers’ organizations and participating in critique groups, as well
as having deadlines to meet, keep me in touch with other people, as well as
keep me in tune with the calendar and with weekly and long-term goals.
Some highlights of this first decade of retirement have been blogging for
eight-and-a-half years, having published my book THE CHRISTMAS CARRIAGE AND
OTHER WRITINGS OF THE HOLIDAY SEASON (still available through Amazon,
BARD, and Audio and Braille Literacy Enhancement), and distributing almost 150
posters on which is printed my poem “A Guide Dog’s Prayer to Saint Francis of
Assisi” and which features photos of each of my four Leader Dogs. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">
Leader Dogs Keller and Heather were with me during my teaching years.
Zoe, my third Leader Dog, was the bridge because she was at my side for my
final two years of teaching at Milwaukee Area Technical College and was also at
my side for my earlier years of retirement. My current Leader Dog,
Willow, has only known my retirement life; nevertheless, with our living in a
downtown area in a large city, she has a challenging, varied, and rewarding
working life as a guide dog. My British Black Labrador brightens each day
of my retired years!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">
When I retired a decade ago, no thought was given to any situation like
COVID. On the other hand, when my sister taught her final classes in May
of 2020, she saw her very young students only via Zoom. Although retiring
midst COVID presents some different challenges, when I read over the following
poem which I wrote less than two years after I retired, I feel fairly much the
same way as I did in 2013. While my perspective on retirement may not
have changed much, my age does have a way of adding a candle to the birthday
cake each year. Having been away from the classroom for ten years, I do
miss my students and teaching less than I did the first few years on this
retirement stage. Before I pull the curtain up on the second decade of my
retirement stage, I hope you will enjoy this poetic glimpse of retirement from
March 2, 2013, when my WORDWALK blog was only two months old. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">* * *<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b>Learning
to Retire from Teaching</b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b>(Touches
of Humor Have Been Assigned)</b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">poem by
Alice Jane-Marie Massa<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">I am learning<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">to retire from teaching.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">I must confess<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">that, to me, retirement <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">is a process:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">retirement does not really happen<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">on one day, at one hour, or in one minute.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">All that led to this career of years of
teaching<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">must be unwound.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">I have found<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">that I miss the students, the hours, the
marking of time<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">by semesters, classes, and school years.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">Now I am learning to mark time by retirement
years:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">first year, second year, ... <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">on this new stage that too many people fear.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">Do you think I am learning not to lead?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">Am I learning to step aside, to sit back, to
avoid speaking up?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">Down the road, this will all be easier.
Right?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">I am left with all these memories <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">of leading,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">of liking to lead.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">Didn’t I even lead in ballroom dancing in sixth
grade?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">Now, I have to learn this retirement dance or
fade.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">Perhaps, what I need is a Flamenco outfit<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">(with lots of ruffles and beading)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">so that I can fit better into this retirement
mold <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">of not leading.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">Leader Dog Zoe reminded me<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">that I have been successfully and properly<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">following her, Heather, and Keller<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">for 23 years—46 semesters plus 22 summers.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">“That’s a lot of practice <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">at letting us be in the lead,” Zoe said.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">Of course, she is right; and I pat her pretty
head.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">Nevertheless, I guess, she usually knows my
stress.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">One stumbling block of this learning process<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">is that I was born a teacher.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">When I arrived in this world,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">Doctor Loving quipped,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">“One more—just like the other.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">Did he prophetically know that I was<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">one more teacher—just like my older sister?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">My parents—a postmaster and a firefighter—<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">gave birth to two teachers.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">My father nailed a chalkboard<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">to the knotty-pine wall<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">where my sister taught me,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">and I taught my dolls and dogs.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">Our models were those magnificent teachers<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">at Jacksonville Grade School,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">but they never taught us how to retire.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">Yes, I have always been a teacher—<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">in and out of the classroom,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">behind or away from my beloved podium.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">Whatever I know or have learned,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">I am truly compelled to share.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">So, when I learn how to retire from teaching, I
declare:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">I will teach you how to retire—without a care. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">* * *<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal"><b>PAW-note:</b> In this poem, I mention
each of my first three guide dogs who have blessed my life. On March 21,
1990, Keller, a gorgeous golden retriever, became my first guide dog.
Happily, Yellow Labrador Heather, my second Leader Dog, came into my life on
April 15, 1998. On June 6 of 2009, Leader Dog Zoe--my outstanding black
Labrador/golden retriever mix--was the guide dog I was following, appreciating,
and loving when I wrote this poem. After Zoe, Leader Dog Willow became an
important part of my life on June 7, 2016. Each of these four gifted <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="yiv1777203188msonormal">guide dogs continue t<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><br data-mce-bogus="1"></div>