I celebrated my 62nd birthday on Monday. I took the day off: didn’t check my work email, read Abigail Thomas’ Safekeeping, practiced yoga, and had a deep-tissue massage. Then, on Thursday, I submitted my application for early retirement. June 30, 2025, will be my last day at Weber State University. Twenty-five years. While I planned to wait until I turned 65, and thus complete my three-year term as chair, the last three months have been tough emotionally and physically. Two root canals and recurring abscess; trigger finger injection and ganglion cyst removal; colonoscopy and ongoing IBS, despite the addition of Colestipol. Then there’s the relentless administrative work: dealing with the impacts of anti-DEI legislation; fielding complaints from faculty, staff and students; managing requests for placement overrides; and handling the multiple issues related to record-setting numbers of international students. Within the next two months, there will be teaching observations, peer review letters, assessment reports, and articulation agreements with SLCC. I can do the job. But at what cost? I want to enjoy life a bit before I die. I’d like to move away from Ogden, from Utah, and spend the next few years–hopefully more–with Dave in a place we choose together. Not a place we both kind of happened upon. Our own place. Happy birthday to me!