Retirement

After two decades as a Vice President at the largest Managed Care case management company in the US, I was ready to say my good byes.  I had cleaned out drawers, bookshelves and cabinets, packed all personal belongings and filled one and a half paper shredders.  I was ready.  I was the perfect age for retirement according to US statistics and I had a Medicare card tucked into my wallet to prove it.  Although my company didn’t require retirement at any age and I never felt pressure to leave, I was checking my calendar and knew if I was ever going to do anything different now was the time.

I had a plan and had already put it in motion.  Retirement, in the defined sense, would have to wait.

As I write this first post, almost two weeks post-retirement, I am happily partnered with a talented production company and we are making a Documentary Film.   It’s on the record: I am a Documentary Filmmaker. There I’ve said it.

So this is retirement.  For me.  No sitting on a beach sipping fruity drinks or taking up golf.  Not right now, anyway.

The film project is underway and we have created the “teaser” that will be the entrée to the larger project.  What’s it about?  The Beyond Sixty Project is a series of interviews with women over the age of 60 who have incredible stories of resilience and continued relevance today.  It has been fascinating meeting with them and spending hours listening to their stories.  I hope we do them justice in the film.  So far I think we have.

I am prepped and ready for the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, UT later this month.  I have always wanted to attend and now this will coincide with networking opportunities for my project.   Stay tuned as I blog about the happenings at Sundance and the journey of The Beyond Sixty Project.

Melissa