Going to take a break from the Tough Shit: PTSD series this week, because
- That shit is getting heavy, and yeah; I want a break
- Stuff is happening on the early retirement front most quickly like
This post will be a brief overview of all of the things that have gone down as I get ready to early retire from the Cop job. As I think I’ve mentioned before, I turned in my notice at the end of November, and said I would be resigning no later than April 1st this year. I also said that if they could get me a replacement sooner, I’d love to leave ASAP. And I think that’s going to happen!
Looks like my replacement will be starting Monday. He’s coming by in a couple days to pick up my dog (guess I’ve danced around the fact that I’m currently in K9 before-mostly to obscure my identity while working), then the K9 unit SMEs will begin the process of training him up. In the meantime, I get to leave early. There’s a few more administrative things I’ve got to take care of, but my actual last working day could be this Friday!
Part of my job is data related, as I do a bunch of stat tracking stuff. I’ve been busy writing how to guides and training others in my unit on the intricacies of excel, so that’s about done. I also have to run some firearms training, but after that I should be done. I’m super excited that this could be my last week to work.
Tanja Hester mentioned in one of her books about how one shouldn’t give more than two months notice, and I’ll admit, giving more than double that has sucked. I’ve been checked out since December, and these past few weeks have just dragged on and on. Despite that, I’ve been glad that I gave so much notice, as this feels like the honorable way to leave. Obviously I could have just quit on the spot and maybe give my two weeks, but that didn’t feel right. That old boy scout motto of leaving things better than you find them has always resonated with me. Making sure a replacement is in place, and that all of my responsibilities are properly transferred is essentially an extension of that. Experience with my department informed me that due to bureaucratic intricacies, it would take months to make the transfer, hence such a long lead time.
I’ve got a mixture of excitement and stress constantly going on. Excited to leave. Excited to stop doing a job I was over with years ago. Excited to get on a normal sleep schedule and have oodles of free time. Excited to focus on my wellness, and being there for my family. Stressed to be losing a big chunk of my identity, and despite all the maths working out with even conservative estimates, stressed to not be bringing in any income. I guess overall I’m just glad to be almost done so I can start the next chapter of my life.
Speaking of, there’s some interesting stuff up ahead. The other week I chatted with a professor I worked with at a previous position in my department, whose husband was on SWAT back in the day. I emailed her from my work account to give her my personal email, in case she had any research opportunities down the line, and mentioned I may be interested in a Criminal justice PhD program. She quickly jumped into trying to recruit me into her University’s program, and linked me up with a former cop who had just completed it. I spent a total of three hours talking to them both, and I must admit, I’m very interested in going down that path. Considerations related to that could easily take up multiple posts. I’ll put a pin in that, and sum it up by saying it’s nice to have one possible big opportunity down the road.
On another front, my wife may have gotten an opportunity with her company that will result in us moving four hours away for a year-long project starting at the end of this summer. Also exciting (this week is brought to you by the word exciting)! We’re waiting to see what her company decides, but this could mean us selling our house and moving to a completely different type of living situation. The project itself sounds really cool, and my wife is super engaged with it. I’m glad we can actually consider such a move, now that we’re not tethered to living in this big city I’ve been protecting for nearly 15 years.
There you have it, big shit has been happening. I’m leaving my job in a week or so, I may pursue a PhD, and oh yeah, we might be moving! All of the things. Though some of this stuff is scary due to the uncertainty and change, I’m thankful for the randomness which led me to this FIRE path, thus enabling my family to do cool unconventional shit. Here we go!
