The Post asked me to volunteer to leave. I will.

You may have heard that the Washington Post has a financial crisis of about $100 million, and in order to save money it is offering buyouts to hundreds of employees in the hope that 240 of them will get one. I received the email in October. The subject line was: “You are eligible for a voluntary separation package.”

I have decided to separate voluntarily

This is not the last column I write, which will come later this month. This is a column in which I do what I’ve done so often in this space: invite readers to do my work for me. You’ve been so good at posting your opinions and experiences (on everything from popular celebrities to bad grammar) that I look forward to clicking through with you again. I want to hear from people who left a job they loved and went on to do something they (hopefully) loved just as much.

Honestly — and I’ve never been honest in this column — I’m a little worried about what I’ll do next, about what I’ll do He is the next. I know this is partly due to vanity. I worry that I’ve allowed myself to base too much of my identity on my job. Without my job, what’s left of me?

Of course, it’s not like people are asking for my autograph in the checkout line at the grocery store, but even if people haven’t heard of me – and most of them haven’t! – They heard about the Washington Post. I’ve been reading it myself since I was a kid. I was proud to sail under the banner of my hometown newspaper. Working here has allowed me to meet all kinds of interesting people and visit interesting places. And I never wanted to use pens and notebooks for free. Will it all disappear, like tears in the rain?

My job has provided structure to my life. I think this applies to any job, but especially this one. Since March 7, 2004, I have known that I will spend almost every weekday morning writing a column and almost every weekday afternoon preparing some reports for a future column.

Knowing that I wont Doing this makes me feel unattached. I remember a column I wrote years ago about the last fire horses in Washington. When they were replaced by fire engines, hundreds of horses were put out to pasture. They could not be retrained for other jobs because they would go crazy whenever they heard a bell or alarm. They spent their lives responding to bells. They couldn’t stop suddenly.

I’m lucky that I can leave this job without knowing what I’ll do next — or if I’ll do anything other than watch Netflix. (I was going to say Amazon Prime, but then I would have to point out Amazon’s founder Jeff Bezos Owns The Washington Post and is interim CEO Patty Stonesifer He sits on Amazon’s board of directors.)

I am in a much better position than my younger colleagues who have to decide whether to accept a takeover without the pay and pension I am entitled to as someone who has worked here for 34 years. I feel for them, as I feel for anyone trying to build a career in journalism these days.

Honestly, lately I’ve started thinking that I need to slow down. I remember thinking how old my predecessor was Bob Levy That was when he took over the takeover in 2004 and I took over this column. Bob was 58, I was 61.

However, it would be weird to see something/think about something/wonder about something and not have a place to put it. They say that an unexamined life is not worth living. Is unformatted observation worth it? After robbing the outlet, would I start delivering 800-word monologues at the breakfast table, to the dog, to strangers on the subway?

So I wonder: what did he do? You Do? How did you go from working to…not working? Have you tried to shorten your work days? Have you taken off in a completely new direction? Have you traveled to Peru and participated in an ayahuasca ceremony in hopes of shattering the illusion of self?

Send your experiences — with “The Retiring Kind” in the subject line — to me at [email protected]. I may share your feedback in a future column. But not too far in the future. I only have a few weeks left.

We’re halfway through this season’s Washington Post “Helping Hand” campaign. Have you donated yet? To read about our charitable partners – Bread for the city, A place of friendship And Maryam’s kitchen — Visit posthelpinghand.com. Thank you.