Failing at Retirement

Jan Irons Harris (right) joined school district staff in Dade County, Ga., in delivering meals to students in the midst of the pandemic during the summer. BY ROBIN RUDD/COURTESY OF CHATTANOOGA TIMES FREE PRESS

I dreamed of retiring young, not because I didn’t enjoy my work but for personal freedom. Then when I retired, in my new freedom-from-work reality, I found myself asking, “What for?”

My days seemed incomplete and left me with a void that only my unique calling as a superintendent could fulfill. This is my story of retiring young, failing retirement and finding my new professional adventure.

Goal: Retire Young

My husband, Wholey, and I planned for early retirement as we embraced the Dave Ramsey philosophy for financial freedom when we were 20-somethings. We collectively fought debt and saved for our future while dreaming about being free from work in our early 50s.

Wholey scheduled annual finance meetings with me as we discussed travel and home remodeling on a golf course. For my 50th birthday, Wholey gave me books about people who retired young. As any good educator would do, I read them all.

After a rewarding, successful career that included almost nine years as superintendent of a 3,000-student district in Alabama, I announced my retirement to the members of my school board. Because we enjoyed a positive relationship that yielded almost three terms together, they were shocked and unprepared to receive this information. After all, I was barely in my 50s.

With amazement they asked, “Is there anything we could give you that would make you stay? More money? More vacation?” My truthful answer filled the quiet conference room as the board president and vice president listened to my reply: “No, but thank you for asking. I love y’all and I love our students, but I love Wholey more.”

In the end, I agreed to stay another 14 months to get them through board member elections and the training of new board members.

Reality Strikes Hard

Then, my daily ritual for 46 years of going to school each day, as a student, a teacher and an administrator ended. So it’s easy to understand why I found breaking a lifelong, daily routine to be challenging.

Don’t get me wrong. I was excited about my freedom. I welcomed retirement. I enjoyed having lunch with friends, reading, exercising, walking with my dog, cooking and having more time with Wholey, family and others. I tried to embrace golf and trips to the spa.

I decorated my new house, cleaned out my closets and drawers, hired a professional organizer to help me arrange our new home, got more involved at church and even mentored a woman who was seeking a better life through the Christian Women’s Job Corps. My husband and I traveled. I consulted. I started writing my second book, Leadership According to Solomon (co-published by AASA).

I received unsolicited offers for part-time work and speaking engagements and eagerly accepted these invitations. I enjoyed working as the director of Principally Speaking Network, a division of The Schools Foundation, and heading the certified instructional leadership program for the Council for Leaders in Alabama Schools. I also enjoyed helping the Alabama School Boards Association with superintendent searches.

Still, an insatiable void in my heart left me incomplete and longing for my unique work in contributing to the betterment of lives.

Where was my joy with my new status of freedom from work?

I had my freedom, a loving husband and a new home. However, I also had a divided focus. Working for other organizations or volunteering left me empty and hungry for meaningful work — work that I poured myself into, work fully engineered by me. My discontent left me wondering, “Why can’t I be happy in this new environment?” Ultimately, my answer was found through education, prayer and the counsel of trusted mentors.

My Jubilee

I read. I studied. I meditated. I prayed. I took time for me. I talked. I walked. I listened to others including my Catholic nun yoga instructor when she told our class to remember to “be kind to ourselves.” Sister Mary mentioned the Year of Jubilee during a treasured conversation, and it was an epiphany that carried me the rest of the way to wholeness again.

The Year of Jubilee, described in Leviticus 25:8–12, is the 50th year, declared by God to be sacred and kept as a jubilee or joyful celebration. The people were told to neither sow nor harvest during this time. My conclusion: God declared the 50th year as the Year of Jubilee. Perhaps my 50th year was my time of Jubilee, a God-ordained, cyclical time for me to be still, reflect on my life, celebrate and look forward to the next chapter of my life.

Around this time, a friend, Norm Nicastro, was teaching a church class on the book, The 210 Project. He invited me to join the class to explore possibilities for the future. The book’s title comes from Ephesians 2:10, about performing the good works that God pre-pared for us to do.

He suggested I read Halftime: Moving from Success to Significance as I pondered, “What is my work? Where do I go now?”

A self-described “connector,” Nicastro paired me with a wise mentor named Lisa Lampman. Early in her career, she held positions in gubernatorial and presidential campaigns and served on the staff of Gov. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and as special assistant to the U.S. secretary of education during the George H.W. Bush administration.

Because we did not know each other, she objectively listened and offered wise feedback. She explained that we sometimes receive opportunities. She calls these gifts of recognition and helped me see that just because we are invited to do special work does not mean this is our unique calling.

Lampman encouraged me to dream big and imagine future possibilities of where God could be calling me. She wanted me to imagine what Wholey and I could do together in the next chapter of our lives.

When I talked to her about my idea for starting a nonprofit for women who need a second chance, she gently reminded me where my education, experience and success had been. Why go in a new direction when leaders are desperately needed in public education? Through our conversations, Lampman identified what seemed to be my gifts: leading, coaching, teaching and encouraging.

After digesting this information, I woke up in the wee hours of the morning to reflect and pray for guidance. I released the guilt I felt for my lack of commitment to retirement. I prayed that God’s plan might reveal how to best use the gifts as an educator I’d been given.

The next week, I received an e-mail about a superintendent opening across the state line, approximately 80 miles away. This e-mail was different. The search consultant stated this board of education wanted someone to come and love their children. Those key words spoke to my heart and I longed to apply.

Jan Irons Harris tweeted about her decision to return to the superintendency in 2016 following a short-lived retirement.

Our New Adventure

That night, I talked to Wholey about the opening and, needless to say, he was surprised to hear my wish, but, true to his character, expressed a positive attitude about the matter. He encouraged me to apply, although he didn’t know why I wanted to go back to work. He closed our conversation by announcing, “I’m up for a new adventure!”

I applied. I asked God to give me a sign, like Gideon in the Bible, so I would know I was on the right pathway. I only told Wholey the sign: a school board member had to say he or she had prayed for their next superintendent.

Wholey and I visited the community of Trenton, located in Dade County, Ga., in the northwest corner of Georgia. We liked the small town and loved the location. I was selected as a finalist and I interviewed. I liked the board and felt my interview went well. The next day, the board president, Carolyn Bradford, called me. We talked about a number of items. Then, she paused. In the middle of our conversation, she said, “I’ve been praying that God would send us the right superintendent and I believe He has.”

The rest is history. It has been a joy for me to serve as superintendent again for almost five years. My two-year retirement was my time of Jubilee — a time of reflection on the past and the future that made my life richer.

In late summer, I informed my board members that I will be completing my service as superintendent on Dec. 31. The pandemic has made me re-evaluate my priorities and I want more time to spend with my parents and family.

I loved my new adventure serving as a superintendent of a rural, 2,200-student school community in another state. I thank God for the opportunity and will treasure my memories of the great people of Dade County.

Now, I embrace each day and count my blessings, as I live, work and love others. I peacefully sleep through the night having replaced my question of “What for?” with a heart of gratitude for my gifts and the pathways before me. I look contentedly forward to tomorrow with a joyful, expectant heart of thanksgiving.

I don’t plan on failing retirement again because I decided I will never “retire.” I intend to use my unique professional calling encouraging others who are on the educational leadership pathway behind me.

JAN IRONS HARRIS is superintendent of Dade County Schools in Trenton, Ga. Twitter: @JanIHarris

Additional Resources

Jan Irons Harris recommends these books for any superintendent who is weighing the prospect of retirement while still gaining satisfaction from the professional work.

»Financial Peace Revisited by Dave Ramsey, Viking Adult

»Halftime: Moving from Success to Significance by Bob Buford, Zondervan

»How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free: Retirement Wisdom That You Won’t Get from Your Financial Advisor by Ernie Zelinski, Visions International Publishings

»Leadership According to Solomon by Jan Irons Harris, Rowman & Littlefield and AASA

»Smart Women Don’t Retire — They Break Free: From Working Full-Time to Living Full-Time by Gail Rentsch, Grand Central Publishing

»The 210 Project by Marc Fey, Don Ankenbrandt and Frank Johnson, Alliance Publishing Group