The Foreign Service Journal, February 2006

more of the city that I have learned. I have realized that, while I had fantastic experiences overseas, I missed many things in our own coun- try. So I have made a real effort to see them. I have driven to the East Coast three or four times, toured quite a bit of the Southwest, driven to California numerous times and have also trav- eled within New Mexico to see the wonderful, but little-known sites in this state. There have been a couple of inter- national trips as well. One of them was to Italy, where I was posted from 1967 to 1969. During that time I met quite a few friends who were working on degrees in art or art history. The trip was a good opportunity to visit my old haunts and friends in both Florence and Rome. E-mail has permitted me to keep close relationships with Foreign Service friends all over the U.S. I attended the retiree luncheon in Florida on a trip there, and it was a great experience to see so many peo- ple I’d known during my career. I have at last found out what I wanted to be when I grew up — retired. It is such a wonderful life! I am so busy that I now cherish those days when I don’t have to go out. I have much in my home to interest me. Then there are all the homeown- er responsibilities I did not have over- seas. I now have a large and varied circle of friends, which permits me to explore my eclectic interests. I have lived in Las Cruces longer than I lived anywhere in my entire life. I recently took a driving trip of nearly a month through the High Sierras of Nevada and California, and was truly home- sick by the time I got back. That is a feeling I never experienced in the Foreign Service, where each post became my home. I hope that everyone’s retirement experience is as enjoyable and reward- ing as mine. I encourage people to “look outside the box” when consider- ing retirement. An entirely new envi- ronment, with new friends and experi- ences, can turn the “end” of one’s life into the beginning of a new one. Judy Chidester Las Cruces, N.M. n 58 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 6 I have at last found out what I wanted to be when I grew up — retired. It is such a wonderful life! — Judy Chidester