Statement re: Joys of Retirement...

I agree. Was out for a walk in the woods today with a friend of mine and we must of mentioned twenty times how fortunate we are to be retired. Both of us dealt with stress while working, then with famlies and life in general you're always being pulled in a dozen different directions.

Being retired means you can be a bit selfish with who you spend your time with and how you spend your time. I feel like I am finally the true center of my world. Life is good.
 
For the first few years or so of retirement, I was uncomfortable feeling more 'present' in my own life. Maybe that's mostly because I was forced to retire because I was weak and in so much pain from old injuries. I'm not sure and I'll never know.

I wasn't comfortable with it until I discovered I actually had a reason to retire, or rather, a very useful purpose for all the free time I suddenly had; I obtained a license to do foster care.
 
My retirement has been a bit fraught. For more than a year, the government messed up my pensions. Very stressful. Then my plans to visit/move to South America were canceled by Covid. Then I had Covid-related problems with housemates. I moved to a new town, and felt lonely for the first time in my life. After 2 years in this location, and working hard to find or invent things to do, I'm finally settling in.

My energy levels are low. The small amount I accomplish in a day is laughable. I think my retirement would be different if I had money, or a husband, or endless summer, but maybe I'm just kidding myself.
 
NorthernLight said:
My retirement has been a bit fraught. For more than a year, the government messed up my pensions. Very stressful. Then my plans to visit/move to South America were canceled by Covid. Then I had Covid-related problems with housemates. I moved to a new town, and felt lonely for the first time in my life. After 2 years in this location, and working hard to find or invent things to do, I'm finally settling in.

My energy levels are low. The small amount I accomplish in a day is laughable. I think my retirement would be different if I had money, or a husband, or endless summer, but maybe I'm just kidding myself.
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Sorry. It doesn't sound ideal that's for sure. This time of year is difficult. All the things you mentioned may help but I know one thing that won't hurt. Warm weather. Just hang in there. Your energy will be back.
Seems trite but the seasons change, and we change with them.
 
Used to feel guilty for not working but now, Holy Cow!
I'm learning things, reading literature, philosophy,
writing my own theories, writing poetry, articles, books.
I'm painting. I'm sculpting. I'm designing cartoon figures.
inventing. I'm in the middle of a creative explosion!
I've grown so much spiritually by being alone all the time now.
All those years working for someone else sped by so quickly,
I feel like I missed my whole life and I'm just beginning to LIVE!
 
Yes, when I retired...(some time ago)..forced...business closed.
I didn't know where I fit in.🤔
So, I really needed to talk it out.
What was I supposed to do with the rest of my life?🤔
Through my health insurance, went to see
a mental health specialist...
Wow! Just what I needed..she was great..
Didn't give me the answers..or...tell me what to do...
Those sessions really helped.
It took a while..to accept.. that's what it was to be.

Am liking life.đź‘Ť
 
In work at half eight this morning, finished around five thirty this evening. I am 77. Retirement? Plenty of time for that when I stretch out in my box, six feet under. I love what I do, it's like having a paid hobby, so why would I ever stop? Grim Reaper permitting, I shall probably still be working ten years from now.
 
I have been 14 years retired, and we are slowing our activities down. My wife wanted to travel, and since I had done quite a bit before we were married, I knew a lot of the ins and outs. After 12 years, 41 countries, 51 trips, 500 travel days, and 17 cruises, we are done with lengthy travels.
Last year, we moved from a +55 Mobile Home Park, which was sort of like a ghost town, to an apartment overlooking the beach.
 
horseless carriage said:
In work at half eight this morning, finished around five thirty this evening. I am 77. Retirement? Plenty of time for that when I stretch out in my box, six feet under. I love what I do, it's like having a paid hobby, so why would I ever stop? Grim Reaper permitting, I shall probably still be working ten years from now.
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That's how it should be.
 
@horseless carriage, I think they are many fellows like you, just have to be busy, it might be a job or a hobby that produces something that they can be proud of. I know retirement would not have set well with my husband. He was a go, go, go type of man. He was very involved in his union. If had retired he could still be very active in all their meetings, conventions. Most things, like golf, hunting, fishing, gardening had no draw for him.
 
I absolutely loved it until Covid hit. I was out and about every single day with lots of new friends I met at the senior centers. We took yoga classes and zumba, went out to lunches or dinner, plays, concerts. It was like being a kid again! Then Covid hit, everyone disappeared and now I’m lonely and bored.
 
Good luck I say to those who relish retirement, enjoy it. Apart from the fact that I enjoy what I do, there are a number of good side effects. The stimulus of work keeps my memory intact. I still forget things but not totally, a prompt and I recall it at once. The interaction with colleagues and clients, I get as many positive comments at work about my attire as I do on this forum, they love my hats! The banter at work is always fun, I get teased about my age but I have a retort for everything and when I return a jocular insult with an even sharper one it's funny to see my tormentor, in torment. Times I have heard: "You've got an answer for everything!" Too right.
 
I love the semi-retirement arrangement DH & I made with favorite customers when ratcheting down our small business. As Horseless said, working keeps us stimulated and engaged.

As it works out, our time is mostly our own. During peak busy times I might work twenty hours a week, and that's about four weeks a year. The rest of the year I work more like five-eight hours a week. I work almost exclusively from home. DH works about the same amount, but since he manages our contractors and deliveries, he works from home only about half the time.

Our busiest period is summer, which is when we're least apt to vacation anyway. Crowded vacation spots during summer heat hold no appeal, especially since we have a beautiful pool in the backyard.

Working provides income for the extras so we don't have to dip into our retirement savings when unexpected expenses arise. Also keeps me from aimlessly wandering the streets. :cool:

It'll be a very sad day for me when/if we close up shop completely. I'd rather further pare it down rather than close it.
 
I never get tired of the "every day is Saturday" feeling. The lack of stress induced by being a member of the working world is amazing. I'm a bit disappointed by the fact that Covid went into overdrive just 3 weeks after I retired. I suppose the world will remain forever changed by the reaction to Covid but I still say "a bad day in retirement is better than a good day at work".
 
Retirement is not what I expected. I figured I would be living it out on my homestead with my husband and critters. Sometimes you have to do something the opposite of what you expected which is what I did. I would enjoy it more if I hadn't lost my ability to do physical activities. Otherwise it is doing okay.
 


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