That's why I retired at the first available opportunity. I have no regrets about that and the young woman who took my former position had been a student of mine, so it was doubly sweet. I do some freelancing in a related field - I like to say that it's to supplement the pension, but really, I just enjoy the work and it's a very light load.
Yeah, their careers are their identities. It's sad, actually.
My career was just one facet of my life, but certainly not my identity. It was easy to walk away. I miss certain aspects of it, but not enough that I would ever consider going back.