Is Retirement All It's Cracked Up To Be?

SeaBreeze said:
Retirement is what it's cracked up to be, and I deserve every minute of it! How about you??
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Yes, oh yes, it is
It's the best gig yet!

My first morning of retirement;
Wake
Smile
Hear the neighbor's cars warming for the early morning commute
Roll over
Giggle myself back to sweet slumber

Wake....whenever
Do whatever......all......day......long

The savory discovery of naps

Wrote a thing about naps;

Naps

How terribly underrated.
Fought ‘em from 3 to ‘bout 60.
Now I wake up and start lookin’ forward to the morning nap.
When three, folks would nab me and toss me on the bed most afternoons.
During solitary confinement I found fascination with ceiling stains, bugs on the wall,
boogers on the wall (from countless previous incarcerations),
and the wispy sheer curtains, taunting me with flavors from the other side of the open window.
Eventually gramma would pardon me.
Free at last, free at last!

Next 50 some years, work/play ‘round the clock. Sleeping was for suckers, could miss out on some fun.
Driving jobs, oil field, work 80-100 hours a week, then play, hard.
Sometimes just go back to work.
Bar maids got used to preparing me breakfast for my graveyard shift.
The third day gets tricky, however.
Seems you must dream whether you sleep or not.
Giddiness turns to grumpassiness, then you finally drop somewhere.
Waking up at the steering wheel seems to immediately raise several questions….the brief panic subsides.
Never new about REM, but drool, I hear, is a strong indicator you were there,
especially when waking up with your face feeling like a glazed donut.


Now, now the nap, this sacred rite, beckons.
At work, this pathetic office job of 8-12 hours, requires a nap at around 12:30 or 1, sometimes even at 10a.
Closed door, feet on desk, ‘snork’, I’m up, refreshed. Can’t wait to get home, finish.
Sometimes I like napping in an uncomfortable position just to wake back up so I can drift off again.

One time I fell asleep with my arms behind my head.
Woke up to the phone ringing.
In reaching for it, my arm just flopped down to my side.
Thought I’d had a stroke while napping, both arms paralyzed.
Panic.
During the struggle to pick up the phone with my mouth, they started coming to.

I also have dreams, wonderful dreams, dreams of fishing.
You know, the ones. You want to go back to sleep to get back in it, but can’t.
Well, mine is recurring, same ones over and over………..
Sleepy now.
Hope I remember the bait this time.



Where was I....oh, yeah.....retirement perks;




The 7 day weekend

The rush to do....yeah, right

Oh, yeah, SB, it's so much better than it's cracked up to be

For those of us blessed to live to, and into, retirement.......It's our little secret
Don't want too many folks taking early retirement
Places would get crowded

Now, somebody cut those lights
I've got something needing my full attention

moi..thinking.jpg
 
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fancicoffee13 said:
I am like you. I looked forward to it all my working life. However, I found getting up every morning at 6 am not so great. I still get up at 6 and start my day with coffee, watching the news, get my walks in and taking the dogs out. I go to the senior center twice a week. I line dance, play dominoes and cards, made friends there. I think retirement is what you make it. Rich or poor, it is what you make it. I have made friendships, gained a lot. During the COVID virus, I went on Weight Watchers, exercise (walking) and am very happy.
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Are senior centers open where you live? I don't think ours are.
 

Ruthanne said:
Yes, retirement IS what you make of it but I'd much rather be RICH; less problems go with that even if there still are problems. :giggle: 🐶 (y)
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I rather be rich, and I am a little richer in reitirement. And yes, there are still problems, but I can afford them easier this time. Don't have to take sick leave, or have any notes from the doctor and so forth!
 
oldman said:
I retired at 62. Airlines have a mandatory 65 retirement age. The recession had just hit and my company offered some of us an early out package which I would have been foolish not to take. Unfortunately, I injured my back doing some landscaping and mending around the house just after I had retired and had to have three surgeries. It has been somewhat of a struggle since then. Like so many others, I have good days and bad days, so I live with it. All in all, it has been a good retirement. As much as I love to fly, I feel so much better not having the stress knowing that I am responsible for 200-300 souls on-board 4 or 5 days a week. If I want to fly, I go to my local airport and rent a plane for a few hours, just to keep sharp and do what I love to do best. Some men love playing golf, I love to fly.

And like someone else posted here on this board, I also feel the same way. Every day is Saturday. No clocks, no calender.
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GOD Bless you brother. Legally the railroad industry has no mandatory retirement age and after 50 years of hogging I yanked my reverser key at 68 years and hit the road. Still miss it though. It gets in your blood. Enjoy your day.
 
SeaBreeze said:
Personally, I think it is. I looked forward to it all my working life, and wanted to retire early enough to get some relaxation in before my days were up on this earth. Too many people I know delayed their retirement, and found themselves too old and sickly to enjoy themselves. One person who I worked with passed on shortly after retirement. I hear many stories of people actually dying in the workplace of age-related illness or accident.

I live a simple life, always have. To me, just being able to live my days without having to set alarms, drive to work in snow blizzards at 5am, and deal with working for 'the man', punching the time-clock, 10 minute breaks, and deal with all the aggravations of the workplace is a blessing. For years before I retired, I thought about the day that I could say goodbye to the daily grind.

Retirement is what it's cracked up to be, and I deserve every minute of it! How about you??
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You're as young as you wanna be. Life's short, enjoy it while you can.

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Remember cassette tapes? Well, I used to take off alone in my truck with Duane Eddy or Johhny Horton playing to DAMN! Baha, Mexico, Colorado or Fairbanks Alaska, or go off roading in an ATV (remember those?) in Glamouth over Thanksgiving weekend, YAHOO!
Don't do that weekend stuff anymore. Of course, when I married, I worked, and worked, and worked, and worked. I was draggin!

Now? I stay home with my dog. I sculpt, write magazine articles and books, paint, illustrate and clean the bathtub. I don't even camp out anymore. It's a whole different lifestyle! But, You know how you settle in and accept you're growing old? I don't have that! I'm really old, I guess, but I feel like i'm still 40! I'm terribly healthy!

Kind of a forced sedentary lifestyle. Maybe it's because of the China virus, but I'm still not quite used to it. "Stayin in"and "stuck in the house" nah! It's not me! i do agree with Gary though. it's nice to just go back to sleep,if you feel like it!
 
Gaer said:
Remember cassette tapes? Well, I used to take off alone in my truck with Duane Eddy or Johhny Horton playing to DAMN! Baha, Mexico, Colorado or Fairbanks Alaska, or go off roading in an ATV (remember those?) in Glamouth over Thanksgiving weekend, YAHOO!
Don't do that weekend stuff anymore. Of course, when I married, I worked, and worked, and worked, and worked. I was draggin!

Now? I stay home with my dog. I sculpt, write magazine articles and books, paint, illustrate and clean the bathtub. I don't even camp out anymore. It's a whole different lifestyle! But, You know how you settle in and accept you're growing old? I don't have that! I'm really old, I guess, but I feel like i'm still 40! I'm terribly healthy!

Kind of a forced sedentary lifestyle. Maybe it's because of the China virus, but I'm still not quite used to it. "Stayin in"and "stuck in the house" nah! It's not me! i do agree with Gary though. it's nice to just go back to sleep,if you feel like it!
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Not for nothing Gaer but I see members like you, OED and others write books, songs and other things but would the site allow you all or ya'll to advertise here? Just curious is all. Have a good'n. Hilk hilk hilk. I Think I been in Florida waaaay too long.
 
FastTrax said:
Not for nothing Gaer but I see members like you, OED and others write books, songs and other things but would the site allow you all or ya'll to advertise here? Just curious is all. Have a good'n. Hilk hilk hilk. I Think I been in Florida waaaay too long.
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Cassette tapes, lol. In the 50's it was 45's and 78's. In the 60's in was 8 tracks, in the 70's and 80's it was cassettes, in the 90's it was compact disks now it's MP3's. What's next? Brain implants with WiFi downloads in your ear?
 
I'm one of those who dread the R word...retirement. I'm fortunate enough not to "work" a day in my life simply because I love what I do. I'm like fish thrown in water. The communities I served, serve, and will continue to serve keeps me going. I found my niche.

If, my mind remains sharp through my 70s, (will i still be in this body?) I look forward to join Medicins San Frontieres MSF. The journey continues and it'll be so much fun. Woo hoo!
 
Retirement just didn't gel for me. I retired at the age of 52, I just did not care for it. Since then I have started two companies with consulting in another country. With the pandemic I'm not traveling outside the country anymore, working from the office, which I'm renovating. But I enjoy it and that is all I can hope for.
 
I work periodically on an as-needed, contract basis. I like the extra income and the professional interactions but I also like it when I don't have any work because I don't have time constraints.
 
Leann said:
I work periodically on an as-needed, contract basis. I like the extra income and the professional interactions but I also like it when I don't have any work because I don't have time constraints.
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Work is a good idea and might it into it after this pandemic is over that is if I'm able to still.
 

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