Retiring My Briefcase: Saying Goodbye to Business Trips and Office Life

The briefcase sits by the door, just as it always has. A fixture of routine, a silent witness to decades of early mornings, last-minute flights, hotel check-ins, and conference room negotiations. It has been packed and unpacked more times than can be counted, filled with documents, contracts, meeting agendas, and a lifetime of obligations. But now, for the first time, it stays closed—not because of another temporary break, but because the time has come to step away for good.

Retirement doesn...