Just under 1 month retired

Mollypops

Mollypops

Member
Location
United States/MD
April 8th will mark 1 month that I will be retired from my almost 40 year career as a Physical Therapist. I don't think it really has yet to set in for me as I still wake up early during the week and I find myself extremely antsy during the day to keep myself busy. I just don't seem like I can sit still. Being a Physical Therapist I was on my feet a lot so I tend to find myself dusting around the house, vacuuming, cleaning the bedrooms, bathrooms and doing laundry.

I know once the weather gets better on a consistent basis I will be outside in my backyard tending to the garden. The problem is will I always ever be able to just relax? When will that time settle in for me? I have always been called the Energizer Bunny at work even by my much younger Co-Workers.
 
Hi Mollypops as also an energized worker for years too - all I can say is that it takes time and 'hobby finding' - where is MD by the way? [ OK figured!!] tell the rest of us non- locals wot Maryland is like?? ta x
 
Thank you all so much for the replies. I don't expect that my personality will change nor do I really want it to change. I like that I am energetic as I feel that does keep me young and healthy. I do however want some downtime, but have yet to find that yet in my life.

As for the beautiful State of Maryland, I have lived here my entire life and what I enjoy the most about it is it has a little bit of everything to offer. To the west there are the mountains and the greenery and to the east you have the beaches. The weather is not all that awful to deal with as well with the exception of the humidity in the Summer. I also enjoy the Crabs in the Summer.
 
Before I retired, a very wise (retired) friend warned me to expect it to take at least a full year to adjust. I found that to be good advice. As a PT, you, more than most, understand that there are things that require time, effort, and a good attitude to achieve.

Best of luck to you, Molly. Friends on these forums will be a great source of information and support.

:glitter-heart:
 
HI Molly,yes the first yr of retirement can be an adjustment for most of us
When I retired 8 yrs ago,it took me about 6-8 months not to get up at 5:30a,the 3 days I had to be at work.I was a part time pharm tech at local hospital,was there 27yrs
Once you get into a routine,you can always change it,which I did
I know you'll enjoy your 'new life',good luck Sue
 
I retired at 62 and really have never had a hard time finding things to do at home. It took me some time, but I scanned most of our printed pictures into our desktop and transferred them onto USB Flash Drives, so we could show the pictures on our tv. Our dvd player has a usb connection. I also keep busy doing laundry on Mondays and other things, like computer stuff and running few errands during the week. I was never a big work person. Look forward to retirement!

My wife, at 71, still works a full-time job and is very happy that I'm the maid and cook at home (LOL). She can find things to do at home, but not nearly as much as I can. When we move back to Colorado, she will either be laid-off or quit her job. The company is suppose to shut down their office here this summer and only supervisors/managers will be offered a transfer to the Alabama office, if they chose to be. We definitely don't want to move to Colorado in the winter time, so have until Sept to leave here. Once in Colorado, she will decide if she wants a part-time job or retire completely. Financial wise, we both might have to find a part-time job.
 
Thank You all for the great advice. It will be an adjustment for me. One thing during the Summer months once school is out I plan on taking my two grand daughters on vacations with me and they are ages 10 and 8. That will be loads of fun. I also have been divorced for 25 years, but still enjoy an evening out here and there with the nice company of a man when that arises. I also love gardening so once the weather in my area become more consistent I will be out in my backyard tending to that.
 
Hey Molly! I retired in January at 63. I was in medical sales for 40 years. Constant pressure to meet your quota or you are .....fired. Even though I have a lot of activities I am just now 4 months later finally feeling the stress leave me. My friends told me it would take a year or 2.

When you are in such an active and demanding role for 40 years like we were, just because your job ended, your mind hasn’t fully realized it yet. It’s like a car speeding down the highway at 80 mph....just because you put it in neutral doesn’t mean it stops. It will take a little time for us to coast to our new retirement destination.
 
Floridatennisplayer said:
Hey Molly! I retired in January at 63. I was in medical sales for 40 years. Constant pressure to meet your quota or you are .....fired. Even though I have a lot of activities I am just now 4 months later finally feeling the stress leave me. My friends told me it would take a year or 2.

When you are in such an active and demanding role for 40 years like we were, just because your job ended, your mind hasn’t fully realized it yet. It’s like a car speeding down the highway at 80 mph....just because you put it in neutral doesn’t mean it stops. It will take a little time for us to coast to our new retirement destination.
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Hey Floridatennisplayer, I love your analogy of the car speeding down the road. It certainly is going to take some time before my little engine runs down and I get use to this whole retirement thing. I do believe I am going to ultimately enjoy it once I settle into it, but it is just getting there. I am glad I have found this place to chat with others who have experienced these things.
 
Molly, it is a huge transition! From a passionate full time career to........................

There is a great book called “How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free” by Ernie Zelinski. If you have the Kindle app or a Kindle download it............right now! Lol. You will really enjoy it.
 
Mollypops said:
.....I find myself extremely antsy during the day to keep myself busy. I just don't seem like I can sit still...... The problem is will I always ever be able to just relax?.....
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Who says you have to relax? Of course, the 'choices' of what to do in retirement center around your interests, your finances, you're health, and some other factors. If you're able, and opportunities are available in your area, you can volunteer as much as you want. You can travel. You can join groups that might interest you. You can take courses at local college. Depending on your abilities and resources, you may have 'endless' posibilties to keep moving.
 
Floridatennisplayer.... Thank You so much. That book sounds great. I will certainly look into it.

retiredtraveler.... Thank You, that is so true. I do love to travel, but it is difficult at times being single and not wanting to travel alone most of the time. There are occasions that I do travel with my Son and his family and or just my Grand Daughters. I have also traveled on a rare occasion with men that I have dated since I have been divorced. Two things that interest me the most is gardening and cooking. I was thinking of looking into seeing if there were any clubs in my area for those such things.
 
As Tommy pointed out, it can take quite awhile to adjust. We were like a family at work...even my supervisors. I suffered from "separation anxiety" and since my home office where my work family was located was just a couple of blocks away I visited at least every month or so. I also sold aromatherapy products at the time and some were my customers too, so that was my "excuse". :D My husband and mother used to tell me I was busier in retirement than when I was working and my son joked that's why they call it re-TIRE-ment. What is it you've always wanted to do but couldn't because you worked? Find something you love to do and do it. And...
best-wishes-on-your-retirement.gif
 
Thank You so much for your words of advice OneEyedDiva. My work is also only a 10 minute drive from my home and I have already been tempted to visit, but I have yet to do so because it can be quite busy in a Physical Therapy floor. I have always wanted to travel to New Zealand and I still would have to save some money for that, but now I have the time for the trip. I also love gardening so I am looking in my area to see if there are any gardening clubs around. I am also really into Musical Theatre. Not into performing but watching. So maybe there might be a social group that is into that sort of thing as well.
 
The truth about retirement is not everyone is cut out for being able to be content with watching grass grow. Finding where you are in the retirement mentality will take time & self assessment. Sit down and make a list of pros & cons of what you think retirement means for you. Next would be are you able to fulfill what you think you want to achieve in the time you have left.

Time you have left is the harsh reality of the time you have left in your life. Seriously question yourself, what do you need ?
 
Knight, I see myself as leading a pretty healthy life at the moment, but anyone at an advanced age that can go down hill quite fast and I am quite aware of that I am only 65 though and I really don't consider myself old at all really. I suppose I have always looked at retirement as using my time as best as I can for myself. For example, not being on a time clock or on anyone else's watch. If for instance I want to one day wake up a 5 in the morning and pack my day full of tedious things for me to complete then that is what I will do. Then the next day I may decide to sleep in till noon and order all my meals on take out. It is basically up to me I guess. I have many things I enjoy in life that can definitely satisfy the remainder of my life here on earth, I am not worried about that at all.
 
wish I was 65 again I was still workin full time then dashing all over the 'top end' and enjoying it - you sound like you are just enjoying the experiences atm Mollypops [nice name that - why the choice?]. Sounds like you are in the "hey this IS fun" stage - a good one to enjoy and then later the " what other things can I get involved in " stage. Re-visiting your last place of work could be mentally tricky - sounds like "=perhaps I still miss it all" syndrome?

enjoy your "freedom" _ it sounds fun! and as has been pointed out - you can always check in with us - remember Hotel California??
 
Thank You gumbud. I have to say I am enjoying being retired. I think it is more I am a busy body and just like doing things. There is only so much I can do around the house. I have to say this forum has been a godsend. I love it here. Once I find other things around the community to get involved in, I won't be going as stir crazy. If I can find a group that has the same interests as me in my area such as Theatre Goers or Gardeners then I will be content.

Oh and I chose Mollypops because my name is Molly and it rhymes with Lollipops. :)
 
Mollypops said:
Thank You gumbud. I have to say I am enjoying being retired. I think it is more I am a busy body and just like doing things. There is only so much I can do around the house. I have to say this forum has been a godsend. I love it here. Once I find other things around the community to get involved in, I won't be going as stir crazy. If I can find a group that has the same interests as me in my area such as Theatre Goers or Gardeners then I will be content.

Oh and I chose Mollypops because my name is Molly and it rhymes with Lollipops. :)
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lovely like the way ya mind works!
 
I too was told that it would take a while to "adjust" to being retired. I told him when I leave thru that swining door, by the time it stops swinging I WILL be adjusted and I was right! As my father in law told me then "retirement was just like sex......I knew right away I was going to like it". Whenever my friends retired I always laid that line on them.
Check out "meetup.com" to see what's going on that might interest you. In a few months you'll marvel "how did I ever find time to go to work".
If you like to travel GO while you can! More people get towards the end had have more regrets for things they did NOT do than things they did do. Lot of "shoulda, woulda, coulda talk at my age. And do remember, I kid you not, "life is like a roll of toilet paper...…..the closer you get to the end.....the faster it goes. My wife and I took an Alaskan cruise while in our forties. Very nice older gentleman came out to us on deck and said "you kids are doing the right thing...do this while you can enjoy it". He went on to tell us that he and all his friends were so pained by arthritis that they all wished they had done it years ago.
If you get bored and you can always volunteer and put your training to use. Imagine what a free shoulder or foot massage would mean to a poor soul stuck in a wheel chair all day.
Yesterday is the past, tomorrow's the future and today is the present: Present like in gift. Enjoy it! I hope you and everyone who reads this enjoys a nice long, happy HEALTHY retirement!
 
I looked at retirement as the opportunity to finally have the time to do all the things that earning a living and raising children had denied me. This was time for me and I was lucky that I had several interests that provided time and thought intensive hobbies that filled my days.
 
I wouldn't be too concerned about it. For most it's a natural progression from "having" to be places and do things at certain times - not of your choosing to being retired, and you getting to choose those times and places that you'd like to be, whether hard at work cleaning your home and doing errands, or relaxing in the back yard with a good book and a cup of coffee. Feel a bit tired after lunch - the couch awaits you.

I retired at 59 and it's now been almost 27 years, all of them wonderful. You can't foresee health problems or I suppose, running out of money, but other than that your time is your own and that is a precious thing in itself.

Best wishes for a happy retirement - -i'm sure that it will be!:)
 
Thank you all for your wise advice. DGM I will check out meetup.com for things in my area. I do have friends and we go out from time to time, but many of them still work so that throws a wrench into things so if there is a group that takes a monthly Mid Day bus trip to NYC to see a Matinee Broadway Show I am all for that. A nice gardening club of women would be nice as well. I am pretty sure I can find these things. As for now I am enjoying my retirement. It will only be 1 month tomorrow that I will be officially retired from my career.
 
Mollypops said:
Thank You so much for your words of advice OneEyedDiva. My work is also only a 10 minute drive from my home and I have already been tempted to visit, but I have yet to do so because it can be quite busy in a Physical Therapy floor. I have always wanted to travel to New Zealand and I still would have to save some money for that, but now I have the time for the trip. I also love gardening so I am looking in my area to see if there are any gardening clubs around. I am also really into Musical Theatre. Not into performing but watching. So maybe there might be a social group that is into that sort of thing as well.
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You're welcome Mollypops. You're on the right track already...seeking out things that interest you and trying to connect with people with similar interests. Have you ever been to a dinner theater performance? I went once a long time ago with my mom and the play was Fiddler On The Roof which I previously had no interest in seeing. But the whole thing was such an enjoyable experience, including the performances. My BFF is a musician who tours with a musical theater group but she's out of state and they've never performed in my area. Hope you can save enough to get to New Zealand in the near future. I never actually thought about traveling there but it does have gorgeous scenery.
 
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