The Foreign Service Journal, January 2006

56 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 6 ozens of Foreign Service retirees responded to the AFSANET the Journal sent out asking for insight and information on their experiences with retirement. In fact, the response was so great — and so varied and interesting — that it will be presented in two installments, the first in the pages that follow. Part II will appear in the February 2006 issue of the FSJ . — Susan B. Maitra, Senior Editor Retirement: A Setback … at First Way back in 1987, at the tender age of 47, I retired from the Foreign Service — involuntarily. I had not suc- ceeded in getting through the up-or-out window set up by the Foreign Service Act of 1980, despite five years in senior-grade positions, glowing evaluations from my supervisors and recommendations for promotion by sev- eral selection boards. To make matters worse, my first marriage drew to a close at exactly the same time. It had been a successful marriage, but it was over. That made major blows in work and in love — the two vital areas for mental health according to Freud. I had dinner one evening with an old friend. I told her my sad story with as little self-pity as possible and she observed, “Gee, Larry, I don’t think I’ve ever known any- one who fell from such a high place to such a low one in so short a time. I’ll be interested in seeing how you han- dle it.” (Understand, she was an edgy person.) It got me thinking: “Yes, I’ve fallen quite a way, but try this inter- pretation: it’s not a catastrophe, just a couple of setbacks. No reason not to be optimistic about what’s to come.” I decided that I, too, was interested in seeing how I would handle these unwelcome setbacks in the course of the serial adventure of my life. Setbacks are inevitable. They test your resilience and resourcefulness. They build character. Now I had to show I was made of good stuff, turning adversity into an opportunity for growth and new self-actualization. That was many years ago. How have things worked out since then? Very well, after a shaky start. At first I relocated to New York City, where I had grown up, but wasn’t able to parlay my Foreign Service experience or other talents into a second career track. Fortunately, my Foreign Service annuity provided a decent base to ward off penury. It gave me the luxury of being able to pur- sue work at my own pokey pace and without making level of pay the primary consideration. (That’s the same approach that led to choosing a career in the Foreign Service, wasn’t it?) F O C U S O N F S R E T I R E M E N T L IFE A FTER THE FS: R ETIREES S PEAK U P D R ETIREES SHARE STORIES AND ADVICE ABOUT RETIREMENT FROM THE F OREIGN S ERVICE .