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Thread: 60 days to retirement (not that I'm counting). (OK I'm counting)

  1. #1
    Senior Member herbgeek's Avatar
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    60 days to retirement (not that I'm counting). (OK I'm counting)

    (that's working days, not calendar days)

    For those of you who have retired, what kinds of things happened when you retired? Did you take a trip, have a party, just kick back and indulge in a hobby or do nothing? What were your first 3 months like and what kinds of emotions did you feel?

    This is going to be the first time I've had a guilt free summer off since high school. I've had some years of unemployment/self employment, but I felt guilty if I took time to enjoy because I should have been looking for other work.

    I may at some point engage is some unrelated to my current job self employment or seasonal part time employment, but not for a while.

  2. #2
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    I retired in 2001 after 31 years teaching. I spent time visiting my parents when my dad was ill/dying. that was the main reason to retire early. My husband was a teacher, too, so our first trip was in Sept. 2001 so we would be ON VACATION for the first week of school. We were on Prince Edward Island on Sept. 11- I was glad to not be at school with a classroom full of 4th graders. The first summer as a retiree 2002 ( 2001 just felt like a regular summer) I tried to get the house in order, we did some clearing out of my husband's father's house.....Now I am writing picture books mainly due to The Artist's Way and Simple Abundance books. I have not regretted one minute of being retired. We travel- have 2 time shares so we try to find places we want to drive to....We've been able to go to weddings, funerals and visit people. I feel lucky we are both healthy. That was my worry. Have a great time anticipating the next three months and try not to worry.

  3. #3
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    We have been retired for over 11 years. My husband had a friend get him involved with Habitat for Humanity and two other groups doing good work. He gets a lot of physical activity, mental stimulation and social contacts from these volunteer organizations. Otherwise, he would probably be dead because of eating, no exercise and sitting behind a tv/computer all day.

    I enjoy my time with exercise and my quilting and other crafts.

    Big thing is now we do not have to go out on Saturday or bad weather days. We shop during the week with the other grey hairs and women with little kids. It is much more peaceful. I do much less shopping and driving and really enjoy home.

  4. #4
    Senior Member SteveinMN's Avatar
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    I did not technically retire when I left my day job almost 7 years ago, but I've found my experience then had much in common with other retirees from there: retirement felt like a loooooong vacation for a while.

    DW and I did take a long-weekend trip somewhere outstate but otherwise there wasn't much fanfare to my leaving because the plan was to run my own business -- a transition, not sitting-on-the-porch-whittling retirement. But I needed some time away from my day job to recuperate from the burnout. I spent most of the first three months doing nothing much of consequence -- I kept the house clean, cooked dinner, chased down some long-overdue "honey-do" list items, ... all that felt more like a long vacation than The New Normal. Only after those months were up did I feel like cranking up the business in earnest. Now that the business is closed, I'm still doing essentially what I was doing then: I still run the household and do almost all the errands, I spend time with the grandchildren we didn't have then, and I do a lot of volunteer work.

    I am starting to feel the need to accomplish something bigger as DW approaches retirement and takes on more of the household tasks and volunteering, freeing up my time. But I can't yet define what that something bigger is or what I want out of that experience. One driver for us is that we're both barely 60, so we've got a few years of funding our lives before Medicare and some other retirement funds start coming in, so some choices will be made with an eye toward greater income and fewer expenses if we can manage that.

    ETA Congratulations on "pushing the button," as they say. The time will pass quickly
    Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome. - Booker T. Washington

  5. #5
    Senior Member rosarugosa's Avatar
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    Herbgeek: That is so exciting! I've been retired for 15 months now and I have no regrets. The first big change was to start taking that wonderful morning walk with DH every day and not just on weekends. He still works part-time Mon - Fri, so I tried to shift as many chores as possible to weekdays so we could have more free time on the weekends. I also started spending a lot more time with my sister, who is a night nurse with a variable schedule. We go thrifting, do things like make soap and help each other with our home projects. I've had more time to work on the infinite to-do list as Steve mentioned.
    I found that I can be more social, because I can spend time with people and still have time alone by myself. It is no longer so much of an either/or proposition. I am quicker to accept social invitations and but concert or theater tickets.
    I am now spending a lot more time helping my mom, who has been diagnosed with early Alzheimer's. That is a heart-breaker, but I am so glad that I can be there for her.
    We are also in our third session of carpentry class and I totally love doing that.

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    herbgeek,
    as others have said, it's going to be your time to decide what you want to do. I'd suggest following your own feelings. If you feel like hanging around home in your pj's for a month, then do it. If you've been itching to do something you couldn't otherwise do, like take a class during the week or start traveling, then go for it.
    Three months will go by fast, and you have the rest of your retired life to explore. My point is it's definitely an opportunity to live your days more as you'd like, but there's no rush on figuring that out, and there's no right or wrong way to proceed. Enjoy!

  7. #7
    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    Congratulations, herbgeek!!! How exciting!

    I'm like Steve. I'm not really retired, but when I quit my corporate job it felt like retirement. It felt like I had broken the chains of servitude, because, technically I no longer owed anyone anything. No certain amount of hours of work, no mandatory attendance at anything, no Standards of Performance to live up to. No hoping I didn't spend all my PTO on sick days, with only a few paltry days off for fun or vacation or "mental health days." All I owed anyone was a job well done on the project I was working on at the time.

    So, how did I react to that on my first day as my own boss? I literally got out of bed and jumped up and down with glee. I'm hoping you feel the same your first day in retirement.
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
    www.silententry.wordpress.com

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    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
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    We bought a foreclosure and spent 4 months working on the house 10 hours a day before we moved in to make it just how we wanted it. Then we took a month RV trip. Then I was offered a part time teaching job which was a new career for me. Still doing it 6 years later. We take 2 big vacations a year. After having friends die young we want to do things while both of us are healthy.

  9. #9
    Moderator Float On's Avatar
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    Wow! That's getting close. Congrats!
    Float On: My "Happy Place" is on my little kayak in the coves of Table Rock Lake.

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    I spent those first six months getting our house ready to sell. Ans then the next year or more noving and remodeling our Colorado house. Only in the last few months have I felt retired and thus work8ng on how to spend the days. Oddly, one of my favorite things is leisurely coffee in the morning.

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