February Overview –
February 5 was a holiday in Mexico (Constitution Day) which gave us our first long weekend of the year. The umbrella we ordered for the patio table arrived, so we set it up and what a difference it has made. Since there is more shade now, I am back to enjoying my morning coffee on the patio. We also eat lunch outside again. Even when the temps are low, with the sun directly on us our bodies heat up so much, and some days can burn in the sun. This is so much better now. And so much more fresh air makes us more tired in the evening, so we end up going to bed earlier, which gives us more and better sleep. I guess it’s ending up being a good thing!
For Valentine’s Day, we made a Texas Sheet Cake, or maybe we should call it the “8th of Texas Sheet Cake” as we made it to fit the smallest pan we had, which still made four servings. It’s one of our favourite cakes and was so delicious (photo in Snippets).
On February 15, we woke up to a chilly, overcast day with on and off again light rain. It totally looked like a typical day in Vancouver this time of year and made us a little homesick.
It has been a year since we did our blood tests so Lorne booked us in for the last Saturday of the month so we could check to see how our health is. The cost was $2,500 pesos each ($200CAD / $150USD). The whole process was very simple – we handed them our ID and before we had a chance to sit down, they called us in. We were in and out in less than 10 minutes. We would have been out sooner, but they had to call us back when we were leaving because we forgot to pay… LOL!! Last year we had our blood test done at one of the hospitals where you have to pay upfront when you check in. This year we attended a different lab, and apparently you pay on the way out. Well, I guess we know now for next year.
Our February temperatures were back on the cooler side, and some days barely registered over 20C (68F). We bought a couple of super soft (and warm) sherpa blankets from Amazon to keep us warm in the evenings watching TV and to throw on the bed for when we slept, as the overnight lows ranged from 10C to 13C (50F – 55F). We have no heating system in our condo (by design as it’s not a necessity in most of Mexico), so on the super chilly days, we simply bundle up, put some soup on the stove to simmer for a while and drink a lot of hot drinks.
Retirement
Being able to retire at 60 was not something that I had ever planned on doing. I had always assumed I would work until I was 65, or maybe even longer, mostly to collect the maximum Canada Pension that would be available to me. But after purchasing our vacation home in Cabo San Lucas and realizing Lorne could work anywhere with a reliable internet connection, it became apparent to us that I could retire earlier, and Lorne could continue working while we lived in Mexico.
This was the plan we came up with in January 2020, with a goal of being ready to leave Canada in May of that year. But of course, while we were busy putting all our ducks in a row to be ready to sell our place in Richmond, the world quickly became a crazy place, with a lot of self-distancing, mask mandates, and border closures. After months and months of waiting, finally a tiny window of opportunity opened in August for us to sell our place and then at the end of September we were able to make the move.
My last day of work was September 23. It had been a very crazy month of getting everything organized and completed in time for my last day. Although we had new employees working in our office, I was the last remaining employee of the original company, a company that had been acquired by two or three (maybe 4?) other companies (I lost count of all our name changes) over the 20 years I worked there. I had a lot of history and information to share with those that needed to know it, as well as needing to hand over all my responsibilities.
In the “How We Got Here” section of our blog, in “The Window” I wrote:
My last day of work came so quickly that I could hardly believe it. Around noon, I was summoned from my office to a surprise Zoom meeting with my co-workers from Quebec and Ontario. They congratulated me on my retirement and let me know they were totally jealous that we were moving to Cabo! Then lunch was delivered, which was so delicious and then Nana (my BC co-worker) presented me with a beautiful scrapbook that she had made for me. It contained photos and messages from everyone I had worked with, including our FedEx and Purolator guys! It was so beautiful, and I really felt appreciated by everything everyone had to say.
Lorne showed up at the end of the day to bring me and my personal things home. We said our goodbyes (which left Nana in tears!) and we headed home.
And just like that, after 20 years of working for this company, it was over.
Retirement is not as simple as just not going to work anymore. It involves an ongoing process of emotional adjustment, while entering the last transition period in our lives. This transition ends the routine we began when we started school and have been repeating daily for the past 55-60 years: Get up. Get dressed. Grab lunch. Go out. Come home. Eat. Go to bed. Repeat. Suddenly this set schedule is over, and you are free to do whatever you want. But surprisingly, this transition can be difficult for many people.
Throughout the transition into retirement, there are some common stages that most people experience at some point in their journey:
- Pre-Retirement / The Big Day
- Honeymoon Phase
- Disenchanted Phase
- Reorientation Phase
- Reconciliation Phase
It is important to note that not everyone experiences each of these stages and each person’s experience may be different.
For me, my “Pre-Retirement” was a total nail-biter waiting for COVID-19 to ease up so we could get our condo sold. And “The Big Day” was of course a zoom meeting and a simple goodbye, the way things were being done during COVID.
And because we were moving, we were up at dawn on what would have been my first day of retirement to finish everything up because the movers would be arriving at 8am to start the process. Five hectic days later, after running last minute errands and saying goodbye to our family, we arrived in Cabo.
People often ask me “What is it like to be retired?”, followed by “Do you get bored and run out of things to do?”
In our upcoming blog posts I will share my experience of how these stages of retirement applied to me, so stay tuned!
February in Review
Candlemas Day
Día de la Candelaria is celebrated annually on February 2, and is one of the most deeply rooted traditions of the Catholic religion in Mexico. The celebration for this holiday starts January 6 with the sharing of the “rosca” for the Three Kings Day, as the person who finds the little plastic baby figurine in their slice of cake will be required to make the tamales for Candlemas Day.
Besides attending church services, Candlemas Day is celebrated at home with a huge family dinner which includes the necessary tamales. The neighbourhood smells so amazing as families have pulled out their big steamer pots and the aroma of deliciousness fills the air.
Constitution Day
Día de la Constitución was established by the Mexican Constitution Congress on February 5, 1917, and is celebrated in Mexico the first Monday in February as a federal public holiday. Banks, schools, government offices and many businesses are closed on this day. Celebrations include festivals, picnics, music concerts and street celebrations throughout the day.
The constitution was drafted following the Mexican Revolution (1910) to bring about social reforms and cultural movement. To this day, this document continues to shape Mexico’s social, political, and economic policies.
Election Year in Mexico
2024 is not just an election year, it’s perhaps the election year as at least 64 countries around the world will head to the polls this year. This includes both the United States and Mexico.
Elections in Mexico are held every 6 years to elect a president and every 3 years to elect a legislature. All persons with Mexican nationality, by birth or by naturalization, who are 18 years of age or older, and have an honest way of living, have the right to vote.
Article 83 of the Mexican Constitution prevents incumbent president Andrés Manuel López Obrador (known as AMLO) from seeking reelection. This article in the Mexican Constitution was in response to the Mexican Revolution, in which they fought to remove dictator Porfirio Diaz, who had remained in power for more than three decades. Because of this, there are now established limits on the time politicians can remain in power.
Mexico’s General Election is scheduled to be held on June 2, 2024. Voters will elect a new president to serve a six-year term, all 500 members of the Chamber of Deputies and all 128 members of the Senate of the Republic.
ps… Don’t forget to check out the latest Snippets!
