MEET JACKIE
For more than 30 years, I worked. A lot.
I started my career as an Army officer and eventually found my way into human resources, where I spent decades solving problems, building systems, developing people, managing change, and generally being the person who thought, "There has to be a better way to do this."
I spent more than a decade in HR leadership and earned my SPHR and SHRM-SCP certifications along the way. Much of my career was spent helping people navigate change: new roles, new expectations, difficult decisions, organizational transitions, and the uncertainty that often comes with leaving one chapter and beginning another.
I liked my work. I was good at it. And I was exceptionally good at having a full calendar, a long to-do list, and several things that apparently needed to happen at exactly the same time.
That experience doesn't make me a retirement expert, and I'm not trying to be one. But after years of helping other people navigate transitions, I find myself in the middle of one of my own.
That is a big part of what Quitired is about.
I'm figuring out retirement in real time, using some of the same things that served me throughout my career: curiosity, reflection, problem-solving, experimentation, and a willingness to ask whether there might be a better way.
But work was never my whole life.
I'm a mom and grandmother, a reader, a wanna-be runner, a traveler, a lifelong learner, and a firm believer that coffee counts as a morning activity. I work out at MADabolic every other day, which I love considerably more after the workout than I do during it.
I also share my life with Cassie, my 11-year-old Australian Cattle Dog / Malamute mix, who rescued me four years ago. Her retirement philosophy is considerably simpler than mine: eat, walk, nap, repeat.
Jackie celebrating her 60th birthday and her
retirement in summer 2026.
AND THEN I RETIRED
I knew when I was eligible to retire. I had run the numbers. I knew I could afford to leave.
In other words, I had done the responsible part.
What I hadn't really thought about was what would happen when all the things that had filled my days for decades suddenly... didn't.
And then, almost overnight:
No Monday morning meeting.
No overflowing inbox.
No one needed anything by close of business.
It was wonderful.
It was also a little weird.
For most of my adult life, there had always been something next. Another meeting. Another project. Another deadline. Another place I needed to be.
Then suddenly, I had something I hadn't had in a very long time:
Time.
And apparently, having time creates questions.
The biggest one was not about money, schedules, hobbies, or how many times a week I could reasonably go out for coffee.
It was this:
How do I want to live this next part of my life?
SO I DECIDED TO FIND OUT
I could have made a retirement plan. A very organized retirement plan. Probably with categories, color coding, and a spreadsheet.
That would have been extremely on brand for me.
But I realized I didn't want to spend retirement creating another list of things I was supposed to accomplish.
I wanted to pay attention.
To what gave me energy. What I missed. What I didn't miss at all. What I wanted more of. What I might finally be ready to let go of.
So I decided to spend my first year of retirement intentionally, exploring one part of life at a time.
THE IDEA WAS SIMPLE
One month. One part of life.
Slow down first. Then look at what comes next. Health. Purpose. Relationships. Fun. Curiosity. Contribution. Adventure. And all the other pieces that make a life feel like your own.
I would try things. Pay attention. Change my mind. Make mistakes. Keep what worked. Let go of what didn't.
And I would share the whole thing as I went.
That's how Quitired™ began.
I'm Not the Retirement Expert.
I'm the person willing to go first.
I'm living the questions, trying the experiments, and sharing what I discover along the way.
My hope is that something I try makes you curious enough to ask a few questions about your own life too.
THIS PART IS YOURS
You don't need my hobbies, my schedule, my goals, or my idea of a good Tuesday.
That's not the point.
I'm sharing my first year of retirement because sometimes seeing someone else try something gives us permission to ask different questions about our own lives.
Maybe you'll try something I try and love it.
Maybe you'll hate it.
Maybe you'll watch me do something and think:
“Um... I don't think so, Jackie.”
That counts too.
Because Quitired isn't about creating one right way to retire. It's about paying attention long enough to discover your way.
And you don't have to figure out the whole thing at once.
One month.
One question.
One experiment at a time.
READY WHEN YOU ARE
Maybe you're newly retired. Maybe retirement is still ahead of you. Maybe you've been retired for a while and you're realizing you'd like this part of your life to feel a little more intentional.
Wherever you are, there's no catching up to do.
If retirement is still ahead of you, begin with Before You Retire. If you've already retired, the Quitired journey begins with Month 1.
Start where you are. Take your time. Try the experiment. Keep what works. Leave what doesn't. Then move on when you're ready.
You don't need a perfect retirement plan.
You just need somewhere to begin.
