This afternoon, I attended a celebration of the 125th anniversary of the Canadian Forest Service (CFS). Now part of Natural Resources Canada, CFS traces its roots to the Forestry Dominion of Canada. That fledgling organization began life in 1899, with one staff member and a budget of $1,000. Elihu Stewart was the first superintendent of the Forestry Dominion of Canada.

I worked in CFS from 2008 to 2011. There was something very special about the culture of this organization, which I attribute largely to its people. Though CFS employees weren't afraid to challenge one another, they always did so with utmost respect. The management team I was part of was full of exceptional people, starting with our Assistant Deputy Minister, Jim Farrell, and extending through my director general colleagues and down into the entire team. Perhaps that's why today's event felt like a family reunion. I hadn't seen some attendees since I had left Natural Resources Canada in 2016.

Given that many CFS alumni are retired, it's not surprising that our conversations would turn to retirement. Some have continued to dabble in consulting work, but I was struck by the range of personal pursuits people have undertaken now that they are free from the obligations of earning a living: learning to play piano, taking strength-training and running, doing art (such as wood burning and stained glass), coaching younger people, volunteering on boards of directors, leading passion projects, spending time with children and grandchildren, traveling. Sometimes I wonder whether my approach to retirement is the right one. But then I remember that there's no right way to do retirement. There's only what's right for oneself.

As I left the building where CFS has its headquarters, I recalled the many times I had descended the steps of 580 Booth Street during the 20 years I had worked in that building, and the 28 years I had worked on Booth Street in various parts of Natural Resources Canada. I grew up in that department, starting as a scientific editor in what was then the Canada Centre for Mineral and Energy Technology (CANMET). The year was 1988; I was 22, just a few months out of university. I would work in six parts of the department over the next 28 years, including three years in CFS.

I don't know that there will be anyone left who remembers me when CFS celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2049. But I hope that someone will and that I will get an invitation. I aspire to be a spry 83-year-old who still remembers with fondness her time in the Canadian Forest Service.