My official release date from the Canadian Armed Forces is still a couple months away, but the middle of June marked an important milestone in my transition to retirement. It was the date I had originally requested to be voluntarily released after more than 23 years of service. It’s the date I choose to recognize as the beginning of my retirement journey.

Retirement from the CAF, I’ve discovered, doesn’t happen all at once. There’s the last day you work, (which for me was back in January). There’s the day you fully hand over responsibilities, and turn in your laptop and work phone. There’s the day of your Departure With Dignity. The official release date on paper. And then there’s the day you personally decide that one chapter has ended and another has begun. For me, that day was Monday, June 15, 2026.

Now, a month later, I’ve been reflecting on what retirement at 42 actually looks like.

The answer, at least so far, is that it looks surprisingly busy.

Over the last month I’ve been coordinating carpenters working on construction of my cottage, helping a friend build her deck, tending to my garden, riding my bike and my side-by-side, attending church, working part-time at the church, going camping and continuing my involvement in community service through the Rotary Club of Oromocto.

What stands out to me isn’t necessarily what I’ve been doing–it’s why I’ve been doing it.

Every one of those activities was a choice.

Nobody assigned them to me. Nobody directed me to be there. Nobody was waiting for a report, a briefing note, or an update. I wasn’t doing them because they were required or because I needed to earn a paycheque. I was doing them because they mattered to me. That’s a remarkable feeling.

For more than two decades, even as a Reserve Force officer in the Cadet Instructors Cadre, much of my time was spoken for before I ever had a chance to decide how I wanted to spend it. The Canadian Armed Forces gave me opportunities, experiences, friendships, and a sense of purpose that shaped who I am today. But for many of those years, even when the CAF employment was part-time, service came with obligations such that time was rarely my own. And when I wasn’t working for the CAF, I was doing other jobs and entrepreneurial endeavours to fill those employment gaps, just to make ends meet.

Today, I have the freedom to decide where my time, energy, and attention go. I am truly blessed.

Retirement at 42 isn’t about doing nothing. It’s about having the ability to choose what is worth doing.

One month into this, I don’t feel like I’ve stepped away from purpose. If anything, I’ve become more intentional about it. I’m enjoying finding purpose in the things I choose.

I’m still figuring out what retirement at 42 will look like in the months and years ahead.

But after just a month, I’m convinced of one thing: