A 'light-bulb' moment

I had one of those ‘light bulb’ moments today. It was a chance meeting which told me that a major life decision I have made is the right one!


Some former work colleagues are fun to bump into. They tend to be the people who I got on well with when I worked with them. It’s probably something to do with a shared sense of humour and a certain way of looking at the world. Catching up with the gossip on people we worked with and what has happened to them is can be great fun. So it was great to bump into Betty at the GP surgery where I was waiting for my flu-jag. I have know Betty ever since I moved to Scotland in 1978. She helped introduce me to Scottish social work. Indeed it was her job that I came up here to take over. She had decided to take a sideways move into district management and I became the social worker attached to a psychiatric day unit in Musselburgh. Betty is now 80 and still looks great. She gets out and about and is playing golf regularly. Luckily, we both had a bit of time on our hands, so we were able to reminisce about the old times to our hearts content. I overcame my reluctance to live in the past and thoroughly enjoyed the chin wag about former times. Just as the nurse came to take me through for my jag, Betty mentioned that her daughter is working in social work in East Lothian.

“Oh yeh, what’s her name then?” I asked

“Chris …., she’s working with adults and enjoying it immensely,” said Betty.

That was when the penny dropped. I am now working with the daughter of a former colleague on more or less the level as I was working with her mother.

Time for retirement… oh yes. I put my notice in on Monday and with leave to take, my last day at work is 24 February. Somehow, it just feels like the right time to go!