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G. Patricia (Pat) Ward

Upon retiring and after a deep breath of fresh air and the realization that her daily postal commute was a thing of the past, Pat caught up on some reading, local travels, movies and three-hour lunches with old friends. Deciding that retirement was all about being still and not in perpetual motion, she fought with Langston, her adorable Pug, over who had dominance over the couch — and what to watch on TV. “He favors the Cartoon Network,” she insists.

Deciding to find part-time work, Pat got a job in HR with a major department store but found it wasn’t to her taste. “It was a very short stint,” she said, but soon afterwards Pat found her niche working for an accounting firm. “Who knew I had an affinity for numbers?” she asks with surprise.

Pat continues to work three days a week and true to her training background often finds herself involved with focus groups and facilitating training sessions. “I enjoy what I do,” she says. “It gets me out of the house and thankfully (according to my daughter) my social skills have continued to improve” she adds with a laugh.

Pat also took a trip of a lifetime when she visited Paris, France and Amsterdam in 2008.

“I had dreamed of going to Amsterdam for much of my life, ever since my father handed me a copy of Anne Frank’s diary,” Pat explained. “There were some insurmountable barriers to my going — like my pathological fear of flying.” Eventually the plan gelled and she and her daughter Erica traveled together.

“What a great trip — we visited the Louvre and saw the Mona Lisa, and I was close enough to Venus DiMilo to almost touch her,” said Pat. “As a former art history major, I can’t describe the chills I felt being inches away from such greatness — Ruebens, Monet, Delacroix — what a feast for my tired old eyes.”

Pat says her visit to Amsterdam was very emotional. She went through the Annex where the Frank and Van Damme families hid from the Nazis. “The Rijksmuseum took my breath away. Amsterdam in of itself took my breath away — literally, Pat said “If I could have, I would have stayed in Amsterdam. It’s an amazing city.”

Living downtown in Cincinnati, Pat decided to buy a scooter about a year ago. “I live in a ‘walking’ neighborhood, and most of where I go is within five miles of where I live, so a scooter makes sense,” she says. “In my college days, I rode Hondas and Kawasakis, tearing through the college quad thinking I was ‘Easy Rider.’ However, I may think that I can run with the big dogs, the reality is that I am barely able to keep up with the puppies — hence the scooter.” Pat says it’s “relatively tame” and won’t do more than 50 miles per hour, but getting slightly more than 100 miles to the gallon it’s a great money saver.

Pat’s daughter Erica has worked for the Postal Service for 12 years as a letter carrier. “When people ask her if she’s related to me, she answers ‘Uh, no, what did she do?” Pat jokes. Pat also has a son, Chris, who lives in Cleveland and works in the mortgage financing business.

The big highlight of 2009 for Pat was heading back to Washington, DC, in mid-January for President Obama’s inauguration.

“I traveled with Erica and her friend along with a gazillions to see for ourselves what we hoped would not be a once in a lifetime event,” Pat said. “I never thought I’d be alive to see this happen.”

Pat says she feels incredibly blessed at this stage of her life. “Life is rich and still surprises me with good things. I keep in touch with old friends, many of whom have retired from the Postal Service and private industry. This of course gives me more options of people I can pester and visit,” she adds with a smile. “E-mail and Facebook are great links to old and new friends.”

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