Need advice

I retired on a Fri in June.18 yrs ago....my friends had a party for me Fri night , so my first day retired Saturday...I spent with a heavy head....:)

I kept my promise to myself on Sunday, loaded up what i needed in the saddle bags of my motorcycle , and hit the road. 3 weeks...Came home cuz I figured my grass surely needed cutting & I was missing my pet cat...he was with a friend....Upon my arrival home...my neighbor had been keeping it cut.

Thanked him, did some laundry ..went and got my little pal back....had a couple good strong drinks...and slept like a baby that night. Then settled in to my life as an old retired coot....:)

Do you still ride?
I retired last year. I have 2 motorcycles. I'm going to get one that is better suited to multi-day / state rides. If I knew it would be my last bike, I'd buy my first ever new bike.
 

Do you still ride?
I retired last year. I have 2 motorcycles. I'm going to get one that is better suited to multi-day / state rides. If I knew it would be my last bike, I'd buy my first ever new bike.

No, sort of sudden on set arthritis has taken me off of one..I just cannot find a comfortable position on one. Hoping to get some correction, but...not getting any younger either.
 
I love how I can go outdoors for a walk and enjoy the sunshine in the spring/summer/fall, or stay in to enjoy a snowfall in the winter and not have to worry about driving in icy road conditions. Hospital policy (I worked there 8 years before retirement) was that you're fired if you stay home when there's snow.
 

What about the last day at work? I was witnessing some testing so I had to wait until everything was done, all i's dotted ant t's crossed. I went to my office to write my final report al walked briskly out the door to my truck and I was gone for good. The best part of the day was cleaning out my office and loading my truck with stuff.
 
The last day, I put in some work, there was a party for me in the afternoon, I did some more work and went home.

The next morning, I was on my way to Hawaii. I got a call from the office asking if I could come in on Monday. Nope. I gave them MONTHS of notice that I was retiring. I'm not sure if they didn't believe me or what.....
 
Well now I am officially retired,. The first two days have been filled with outside things now that spring is here. I have had three calls about things from work. It feels strange.. most of the time my mind thinks it is Saturday. I have been told it take about a month before u don't think it is just a day off. Leaving work Monday was difficult. My mind wandered though this big change , as this is the last era in life. It is a little scary at first, but have moved on. My youngest son. (34) took me to a movie. He paid!! So many things are going through my mind. What to do next, what to do tomorrow. Etc. I have decided for now to just work on what ever is in front of me. And if I want to sit I sit. šŸ˜Ž
 
Yep for sure...you will eventually get out of the mindset that tells you , you HAVE to be doing something ...it takes a while.. Then perhaps like me 9 months into retirement ... you'll start to feel that you've done enough doing nothing, and start to look for things to fill your time..
 
i went home and painted my fingernails--working in food service we werent allowed to wear polish----took care of my grandson in- the morning and did volunteer work in the afternoon---i did this for 12 years--also took him to school
 
Congrats Virstens ! Well done.

Reading yours and the other posts of folks who have made it to the finish line is inspirational to me and Ms. gamboolgal.

We are planning to retire end of 2019. The way mega oil corp works for retiring at end of the year - is that we will depart from Nigeria on 30-Dec to arrive Texas on 31-Dec-19.

We are planning to get home, pack the Go Bags and get on the road to the Golden Nugget in Lake Charles to gamboool it up on the pokerzzz tables for New Years and starting the new chapter in life.

Thats the plan anyway...

Again, congratulations Verstens - good on'ya !
 
I retired at the end of the day on a Friday. The next day was a Saturday like any other.
Monday I went and got a job where my friend worked. It was on an as needed basis. I would never work a few hours a day, every day. The joy of retirement is that your time is yours to use as you see fit.
 
Congratulations virsten!
Sounds like you'll be just fine.
I've tentatively set my retirement date for June 30 2022 right before I turn 65.
I THINK I can make it 4 yrs.
I'll be watching to see how you enjoy this new chapter.
 
Retirement was a dream come true that finally happened! I was so happy and proud of myself (my colleagues said I couldn't do it at age 50). To not have to get up and go to work....freeing!
 
I retired a week ago and my first day was uneventful. There is a dinner planned for next week to combine two birthdays and my retirement into one evening paid by others. I do not feel like I expected to feel. Unlike many I know, I loved my job but was just burnt out since I have worked every year from the age of 14. I am now 67. After seeing younger men than me die all of a sudden, I figured to retire while still in good health.

I feel anxiety. No plans yet. I have spent years on spreadsheets but how will things actually work out. A death or sudden large cash expenditure will throw off all of my investment plans. Then there is the knowledge that this is the last phase of my life. It is not like when I was in school and looked forward to the next phase of my life, work. There is no more phases anymore.

I just happen to have a doctor's appointment yesterday and we discussed it. He told me to give it a few months and then call him for an appointment to see how the reduction in stress has affected me. My blood pressure was extremely high and having sleep problems. He said what I feel is not uncommon and just give it time. He made me realize that the only problem I have is in thinking I have a problem since everyone around me belongs to clubs and is busy all day doing things and I do nothing because I had to work full time while they were retired and free to play all day. So I have to find my rhythm and take it one day at a time.
 
Not being judgemental but if that is a picture of you it suggests weight contributes to your high blood pressure. I was overweight [FAT] when I retired. Probably like many, not the best eating habits & no exercize during my last years of employment. So bad that when my wife & I tried walking. We were two blocks from home and not sure if we had the energy to walk back. Lightbulb moment !!! if we wanted to enjoy a long retirement we had to change.


24 years ago we joined a fitness center, used the computer for quality meal planning. Both filled time in our time to fill days. Took a year & one half to get to the point of being able to hike places like The Arches in Moab, Utah. Longest hike there was 14 miles with 25lbs. of stuff in a back pack. Over the years hiking many of the National parks ate up tons of time, while enjoying all America has to offer. The trick was to rent a condo or motel with a kitchenette so we could still prep healthy meals. Getting outdoors year round and enjoying great health makes these last years what we hoped for. Money is nice to have but good health beats that every time.
 
I've enjoyed retirement for 20+ years but since I was self-employed, it came about gradually as I turned work-day business over to others. The key to a happy retirement for me has been to have several engrossing hobbies that I can lose myself in. Over the years, I've dropped a few and added others but always have something to turn to that fully occupies both body and brain.
 
I retired a week ago and my first day was uneventful. There is a dinner planned for next week to combine two birthdays and my retirement into one evening paid by others. I do not feel like I expected to feel. Unlike many I know, I loved my job but was just burnt out since I have worked every year from the age of 14. I am now 67. After seeing younger men than me die all of a sudden, I figured to retire while still in good health.

I feel anxiety. No plans yet. I have spent years on spreadsheets but how will things actually work out. A death or sudden large cash expenditure will throw off all of my investment plans. Then there is the knowledge that this is the last phase of my life. It is not like when I was in school and looked forward to the next phase of my life, work. There is no more phases anymore.

I just happen to have a doctor's appointment yesterday and we discussed it. He told me to give it a few months and then call him for an appointment to see how the reduction in stress has affected me. My blood pressure was extremely high and having sleep problems. He said what I feel is not uncommon and just give it time. He made me realize that the only problem I have is in thinking I have a problem since everyone around me belongs to clubs and is busy all day doing things and I do nothing because I had to work full time while they were retired and free to play all day. So I have to find my rhythm and take it one day at a time.
Your doctor sounds like a wise man who gave you very good advice! Working so hard sometimes results in the worker not having outside interests. I hope you have something that you love doing that you can indulge in , if only on a semi regular basis. It helps to have something else to look forward to. Congratulations on your retirement. Sounds like you deserve it so I hope you can learn to enjoy it. :)
 
The morning after my last day of work, I got up, gathered up my ugly old white well worn nursing shoes and hauled them to the dumpster. I haven't worn a pair of white shoes since. My feet are so happy!
 


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