Retirement at last!

Wow ... the day has finally arrived and I am officially retired! Actually, even though Carol doesn't work outside our home, I think she now feels retired as well. So far it has been great - not only do I not have to get up very early (like 5 a.m.) and drive 27 miles to work - I don't even have to think about work! That is really, really, really coooool! The other day I had to run a few errands, e.g. Walmart, Lowes, grocery store - those types of things. It was really an interesting feeling and a lot of fun doing those things at a time I formerly would have been at work.

Shortly after I decided to retire, a business associate of many years also came to the same decision. Her concern, though, is that she doesn't know what she will do because work has pretty much been her life for so many years and she has developed almost no other hobbies or interests. Now that is sad, and I hope she can adjust to her new-found freedom. For myself, I definitely do not expect to have that problem. Work was, for me, simply a means to an end and support for the family. While I enjoyed it most of the time, it never defined me. Toward the end, work was really getting in the way of enjoying other interests!

Some interesting things about retirement, discovered in just over a week:

1. There is no hurry to get anything done quickly and procrastination could be raised to the level of an artform.


2. The simplest task can be stretched out long enough to fill most of the day.


3. Mowing the front yard and the back yard on the same day is not going to happen.


4. People always ask, "So, what are you going to do?" It's as if their expectation is that I retired in order to start another career or that I could be bored to death if I don't.


5. When I answer the Q. in #4 by saying "I don't know", people then want to know if we plan to travel because, once again, it must seem to them that doing nothing is not an option, or that my prior life outside of work was only meant for resting up for more work.


6. The ability to "graze" throughout the day instead of eating actual meals would probably soon make me look like other animals that graze - so I am working hard to avoid it.

I'm sure there will be many more things to learn about retirement and I'm looking forward to each of them (except the lack of a paycheck!). Thanks for all the well wishes we have received - I'll keep you posted!