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CCCA_V7No2_Profiles-FIN_CCCA 13-05-17 2:24 PM Page 23 Profile — Conférence Nationale du Printemps “I got to hug the President and the high-pressure job. So you have to teach songs while playing rhythm guitar and First Lady on election night which yourself things, like to sleep more hours, singing lead in the Paula Boggs Band; brought it all together for me,” she says. which just doesn’t happen overnight.” working on boards including theAmerican “ This spring,Boggs’remarks at the CCCA Boggs has worked through a process, Red Cross; and sifting through job oppor- conference focused on what she calls the training her body to sleep seven or eight tunities looking for the next big challenge. second season, a relevant topic for many in hours, not five. She’s also curbed the adren- Relaxed, and with a ready laugh, Boggs the audience at, or nearing, retirement age. aline-like response to unexpected phone says she’s over the moon about how her life Physical separation from the workplace, calls and the ingrained assumption the office has unfolded. And while the president’s re- financial independence, the importance is calling with an emergency to manage. election was fulfilling, an event five weeks of making lists — what’s most important to “There’s also, for most of us, me per- later reached the pinnacle. you at this time in life — and learning to say sonally, being tied into a title, what you Washington State voters had passed legis- no,are themes she shares with similar groups. were called,”she explains.“I went from [at lation making same-sex marriage legal. In When you’re retired, Boggs says, people Starbucks] being executive vice-president, December, nine days after the law came into come after you to do this and that;to serve general counsel and corporate secretary to effect, Boggs married Randee, an award- on committees or to volunteer.“You have having no title.You have to go through an winning artist and her partner of 24 years. to be discerning. Saying no is important in emotional thing. “Of all the things that happened with your work life and for some of us, it “There is an importance for me in re- me, to me in 2012, honestly, retirement becomes more important in retirement.” connecting with family, as well as spiritual pales compared with being able to get Retiring lawyers also need to do some and physical well-being,a role for quietness.” married,” she says. conscious maintenance work on their It doesn’t mean her days have ground to It was icing on the cake in a life with minds, bodies and souls after decades of a halt — quite the opposite. In a life that more chapters to write. demanding work. now leans more towards chai tea than dou- “Initially, you don’t realize how much ble espresso, she remains busy: as a writer Michael Dempster is a freelance writer based your body is programmed to being in a and speaker;as a musician creating original in Calgary. WE CAN HANDLE ANY PITCH. LITIGATIONBOUTIQUE.COM WOODS LLP LITIGATION . ARBITRATION . CLASS ACTION 2000 MGILL COLLEGE AVE. SUITE 1700 MONTREAL, QUEBEC H3A 3H3 T. 5149824545 23