I had a lot of internal struggle when it came time to retire. I knew I needed to retire. I was out of energy and out of patience. My mom had been ill off and on for a couple of years. I always felt torn between family and work. My work was not just a job or a career. It was my way of paying honor to my brother and my mother and my father. My brother was a special needs student and when he was alive I tried to learn all I could to help him When he passed away, I felt that it is my responsibility and my passion to continue to work with students who needed what I had learned. So leaving my career was a conflict because I had not accomplished all I had hoped to accomplish. I had hoped to somehow influence the SYSTEM so that success of special students would not depend entirely on the dedication and devotion of the individual. So, KNOWING I needed to retire and being at peace with it are two different things. But I have to say that, having done it, it is the right thing to have done.