She walks toward leaner, richer life

Who would walk away from a perfectly good job in this economy?

Erin Geiser did on Friday. After 27 years, more than half her life at Arc Greater Twin Cities, Geiser brought in caramel rolls and clementines for the staff, packed her boxes and kept Kleenex handy for teary goodbyes and a pesky head cold.

"If this wasn't my last day, I would have called in sick," joked Geiser, 53, who has secured health insurance through a broker, cut cable to the bone and may take on a housemate to make ends meet.

She has loosely mapped out the next six months, starting with sleeping in on Monday and ending with a trip to Europe with one of her two adult sons next summer. After that, who knows?

But while the lovely Geiser bears a resemblance to Elizabeth Gilbert, hers is no "Eat, Pray, Love" adventure. The best-selling author stepped into the world to face her fears and, ultimately, tame them. Geiser is way past that.

"A lot of things I just was so fearful of ... I don't care about anymore," Geiser said. "I used to have a fear of flying, because the plane might crash. That fear went away. I have different expectations about what life is supposed to be."

Life was generally as it was supposed to be until three years ago, when Geiser's father-in-law died in his sleep. She and her husband, architect Michael Schrock, were in Fargo for the funeral when Michael, 53, was hit and killed by a truck as he walked from their hotel to his parents' house.

Soon after, Geiser gave Arc six months' notice. She had little idea what she would do; only that the classic cliche was true: Life's too short.

Geiser managed Arc's Value Village thrift store in Richfield until three years ago, when she was promoted to general manager for all four stores. She was a natural and thoughtful leader "who is leaving a legacy," said her boss, Laurel Hansen, Arc business director. At her 20-year anniversary with Arc, employees handed out WWED (What Would Erin Do?) bracelets.

'Really celebrating'

"I'm not leaving Arc because I didn't love my job," said Geiser, walking the halls in funky patchwork Oilily boots from -- where else? -- Value Village. "I just need more time. Working 50 hours a week, I don't have the time to do what I want to do."

That list begins with "really celebrating Christmas this year," followed by a wedding in Denver over New Year's, two weeks in Florida with her father in February, a six- to eight-week road trip in the spring from New Mexico to California to Vancouver Island, and a summer trip to Belgium, Germany and Spain with her son, Haven, 21, a college senior studying film. Her 25-year-old son, Atlee, is working at McMurdo Research station in Antarctica.

After graduating from Goshen College, a small liberal arts school in Indiana, the adventurous Geiser moved to Minneapolis in 1983, influenced by "Mary Tyler Moore" and a mistaken belief that the city was closer to family in Winnipeg than it is. She started working at Arc soon after.

She and Michael, whom she met in college, married in 1984. After his death, her parents stayed with her for three weeks.

Mike left her with enough money to cover Haven's schooling and her mortgage, she said. She's found "incredibly expensive health insurance with a high deductible," which she notes is a reality "a lot of people have to deal with all the time."

She plans to keep her 5-year-old car running, and "will pay attention" to her savings.

Ready for sacrifice

"I had a life with Mike, and we raised our kids, and now I have a new life," Geiser said. "I'm still a mom, daughter, friend, but I can be so many other things, too. I think I will be able to find satisfaction with whatever I do."

On Monday, she slept in, then made a pot of coffee.

"After that, I watched the sun stream in the windows," Geiser said. "And it was beautiful."