On more than one occasion, my daughter has said to me, “What do you do all day?” I am sure it is difficult for her to visualize me as a retired person, having lived my previous life in the fast lane. I decided to reflect on that question for my own benefit. The last thing I want is to be “busy doing nothing” all day. Whenever I was asked, “What are you going to do when you retire?” my response was always, “Wherever God takes me.” That mindset seemed to justify my “no plan” plan. Now 5 months into retirement, it’s probably a great time to assess my plan. Here goes:
- Exercise. Although we all intend on exercising daily, face it - how many times did a date with the gym have to be cancelled due to a meeting or emergency at work? I know I had to cancel on many occasions. In retirement you actually have the time to take care of yourself. I get to the gym every morning at least 5 days a week, even when I’m out of town.
- Appointments. Remember squeezing in all of those doctor and dentist appointments to your work schedule? Your 6 month check-up became a 12 month check-up because you just didn’t have the time to waste taking care of your health. How about trying to do something with your hair that should have been cut 3 weeks earlier but you couldn’t find a couple of hours that both you and your stylist were available? I'm finally on a preventative health schedule that I will stick with faithfully.
- Helping Friends and Family. Since retiring, I have been available to help my dad, cook for and sit with a friend with cancer, and drive and accompany another friend to the hospital for her medical procedures.
- Projects. My daughter likes giving me projects to do for her. Right now I am working on curtains for her classroom as well as a handmade mobile for her baby (due in a couple of months). I do love being creative - the planning, securing the supplies then putting it all together - it’s very therapeutic. Gardening and canning this year were wonderful projects I have always wanted to do. I didn’t have the luxury of time to work on projects before retirement.
- Organize. Still organizing and going through closets, it’s a great feeling to get rid of things and organize what you want to keep. (I think I found some Beanie Babies worth big bucks! LOL)
- Party Planning. With two grandbabies coming, I have planned one baby shower and helped with another, not to mention a World Series party for some friends (Go Cubs!).
- Keeping In Touch With Friends and Family. From regular breakfast dates with friends to mini trips with friends and family to traveling to the east coast to see my son and daughter-in-law, relationships with loved ones are a priority.
- Cooking. It’s refreshing and so much healthier to eat a majority of our meals at home. Again, living such a fast-paced life meant that we either ate out or picked up take-out more often than we liked.
- Writing. I have thoroughly enjoyed writing this blog. Even if only 1 reader gets something out of it, like teaching and reaching one student, that 1 reader will most likely pay it forward.
- Just Being There. Just the other day, I had a friend whose husband became acutely ill. She picked up the phone, dialed me, and asked me to come over immediately. 90 seconds later, I was there. During your working life, you develop relationships with family and friends with the understanding that although you will always be there for them, it comes with some limitations. During your retired life, it’s comforting to have the freedom to really “be there” for your loved ones.
So - when people say that once they retired, they didn’t know how they had time to work, they mean it! Although I have toyed with the notion of a 2nd career - educational consultant, real estate, writing a book is definitely on my to-do list - for now I’m still good with going wherever God takes me. I have two grandbabies coming. I want to enjoy them. Last but not least - stop and smell the roses without guilt.
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ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more with your philosophy.
ReplyDelete