About an hour and a half
left on my last day.
I thought I'd share the email I sent to the organization, since I feel the same way about many people here (even the ones I don't always see eye-to-eye with... You know who you are!).
As most of you may already know, I will be starting my retirement on March 1st. A long time ago someone I respect highly once told me that retirement is when you stop living at work and begin working at living. I didn't fully grasp what he meant at the time, but as the years passed, it began to dawn on me, and I realized that he was right, and what I am doing is beginning a new career. I look forward to it with the nervous excitement of a small child waiting for the bus on his first day of school.
I know, however, that no matter how much I am enjoying retirement, that I will always remember how I got there, and how big a role so many of you played in making me who I am. In 1979, I was little more than an impetuous boy. The day I started working for ODOT, I had no idea of the great people I would get to know. I had little idea of what life was or where I wanted to go, but from my first day, someone was there to mentor me, to encourage me, to guide me back when I got a little off course (more times than I can remember), to believe in me and then to trust me. I am honored to know you and to have had the opportunity to work with you, and learn from you, and maybe teach some of you a couple of things. I am grateful for the friendships that have become lifelong, and for the qualities in you that I aspired to. I'll miss you (but be assured I'll not miss you too much... I plan to visit often).
I've done my best in these past few weeks to tie up the projects I was working on and to remember the things that need to be done to keep things running as smoothly as possible, but I know I'll have forgotten something, so if you need help finding something I'd know, need any information, or even if you just want so say "Hi", my colleagues in IT have my contact information.
Mark Twain said, "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
That's exactly what my wife, Robin, and I are going to do. And I have all of you to thank.
So, Thank you!