What’s your vision of growing older? We all know the myth of living happily ever after on the golf course on the one hand. Or the person who goes back to work because they don’t know how to fill their time.
After the first year or two of a ‘honeymoon’ phase, most retirees have either successfully made the transition or struggled. Even though the image of retirement is one of a carefree life, you may be surprised to learn that many people suffer during this phase of their lives. Certainly money can be a factor as to whether or not someone is satisfied, but it isn’t the only issue.
Change of mind, change of plans. The lure of the web is too much. It is driving me crazy putting off the work I want to be doing for the sake of doing the work I am supposed to be doing on my day job. Last week it came to the surface in a discussion with my Chuck, which resulted in moving up my retirement date to December 27th. Notified my boss and sent off the modified papers so it is official. Chuck has graciously agreed to staying on the job until May 1st as planned, at least in the plan before this.
-
Plans to head south for a month after Christmas are still a go. Chuck has plenty of vacation and we won’t have to skimp on days due to my lack of vacation balance. In the meantime, I will focus on ramping up my blogging skills on Cheap Living Tips and getting BeyondArt developed.
-
On the home front, we have been invaded by puppies. I brought home one of Kathleen’s miniature schnauzers (Midget, aka Mary Margaret or Midge) and Staci adopted an Akita mix (Madison). Midget has adopted Bruce, Staci’s husband. Kathleen tells me schnauzers pick their owners and that certainly is the case with this one. You can see them both on my video. The big boy is Max, our Chesie/Lab.
Okay, so here I am 60+ and looking at retiring in a few months. Questions keep coming up in my head. What happens next? Will there be enough money? Will we get bored? How long do we need to plan for?
Of course, the how long question is out of our hands. None of us knows for sure whether we have two days, two years or twenty or thirty years ahead of us. So I guess the secret is to figure out how you would live if you knew it was the first and prepare for the last.
What’s your vision of growing older? We all know the myth of living happily ever after on the golf course on the one hand. Or the person who goes back to work because they don’t know how to fill their time.