Oops, I Missed an Anniversary

I did.

Sort of.

But it's easy to understand why I missed it.

The event wasn't exactly accompanied by the usual fan-fare that most people enjoy when they retire.

You see, last Saturday, January 23rd, was the fourth anniversary of my retirement.

I know because it was the fourth anniversary of Stephen Harper's having formed his first minority government.

We share the date -- he formed his first government, I officially retired.

You see, I worked for a Member of Parliament.

For many years, we had a deal:  he would be an MP as long as I stayed at work, and I would work as long as he was an MP (there were many days on which I begged him to quit to put us both out of our misery).

The deal worked well for both of us for quite a lot of years.

And then it became increasingly clear that I would not be able to continue working.

We adjusted my schedule as much as we could.  I worked from home as often as was practicable; whenever he was not in Ottawa, I was not in the Ottawa office.  Fortunately, the technological advances available to us allowed us to function that way quite seamlessly.  I had a "hot line" in my home which allowed the MP to reach me at all times (which he did!); there was a dedicated fax line in my home; my home computer was secured so that I could access the office e-mail from home.

But eventually, even making the commute a couple of times a week became too much for me.

I had to pull the plug and I went on sick leave.  My human resources consultant convinced me to apply for long term disability since my doctor was suggesting that I probably would not be able to return to work any time soon.  That application was pending when the election was called (it was subsequently approved).

The MP that I had been working for did not run in that election, choosing to retire and spend time with his then new grandson.

Because an election was held and the MP I worked for did not offer for re-election, my employment was terminated as of the date of the election.

I effectively "retired" as of the date of the election.

I'm really sorry I missed that anniversary.  I'm sure Stephen would have loved to join me in the celebration.