You have probably heard the saying, “Today is the first day of the rest of your life.” It suggests that everyone can make changes in their lives regardless of any changes in their circumstances (or lack thereof).

My circumstances are changing. Yesterday was my last day of teaching classes as a full-time faculty member. I have been extremely fortunate to have countless opportunities in my life, including the opportunity to retire now with my wife, Ann.

I have been talking about retiring for so long that many people assumed that I had already retired and have asked me how it was going. My smarty-pants response was that I would tell them when I would retire in a few months, weeks, days etc.

Some people also seemed to wonder if they would ever see me again.

Rather than wondering if I am enrolling in the witness protection program, you are more likely to feel, in the immortal words of the Dan Hicks tune, “How Can I Miss You When You Won’t Go Away?”

I’m not going away. Which is why I generally refer to this as semi-retirement.

Let me give you some fer-instances:

• Next year, I will teach half time.
• I will continue to publish articles, though at a slower pace
• I will continue to manage the DRLE website – and update the syllabus page this summer
• Along with Jim Levin, I will continue to manage the DRLE listserv
• Along with Rafael Gely, Andrea Schneider, and Chris Honeyman, I will organize a symposium on negotiation theory at Missouri in fall 2016 (which will be boffo!)
• I plan to volunteer as a mediator
• I will be more available to read drafts, kibbitz, mentor, attend conferences, give talks, teach short courses, etc.

Oh, and I will write a blog post every once in a while.

With fewer commitments, the big change in the rest of my life will be greater freedom to choose what to do. I’m really curious to see what I do. Stay tuned.