That transition can take several years though. It doesn't mean she's set a date yet, but she's apparently found a country home to enjoy it when it comes, she has the ability to lighten her workload a bit and has chosen to do so. That isn't that unusual as people get older and more financially established. It is a transition, but that doesn't mean it is happening tomorrow.

I have a teacher friend who did finally retire last year, but she and her husband had been planning for like 6 or 7 years. They bought land in New Mexico years back, then they started finding builders, then they started having the house built, she started taking more days off because it was either use them or lose them . . . it was all finally in place so she could really retire last spring. It wasn't a sudden retirement; it was a plan.

Your T may not at all be lying to you when she says she doesn't know.