I accidentally retired from my decades-long career. The adjustment came with a larger identity shift.

The author (left) said she retired without ceremony.

Courtesy of Ellen Acconcia.

One morning, after my husband drifted to his home office, I started a load of laundry and stood listening to the machine hum, the familiar hiss of water filling the drum. I thought, "Now what?"I'd recently begun calling myself "a retired marketing and PR professional." It seemed strangely final. There was no gold watch, no announcement, no clear ending — just a word that appeared in my bio without fanfare.I'd been working full-time in some form since I was 19 and built a long career in PR and marketing. I became someone through my work: a person whose days had shape, whose worth could be measured. And then, I was no longer that person.

The author said she has worked in some capacity since she was 19. Shifting to a different lifestyle wasn't easy.

Courtesy of Ellen Acconcia.