Contemplating contentment
- Thread starter Da Nag
- Start date
You need a towel??
Retirement is still life... but you decide what order. There are still bills to pay and stuff to deal with... but, you can put the bills on auto-pay and deal with the other stuff another day. 8) And go play with your boat or your bike... or sit in your towel and watch the sunset.
It totally doesn't suck. 8)
Best wishes,
Jim
Retirement is still life... but you decide what order. There are still bills to pay and stuff to deal with... but, you can put the bills on auto-pay and deal with the other stuff another day. 8) And go play with your boat or your bike... or sit in your towel and watch the sunset.
It totally doesn't suck. 8)
Best wishes,
Jim
When I was still teaching I remember hearing a colleague say that he would never retire because he "didn't know what he would do"!
Not this guy! I always thought this was just an old saw - "I'm so busy now that I don't know how I found time to work!". That pretty much describes my six years of retirement. Wouldn't change a thing except have Marcia retire right now, not in two years.
Nick
"Valkyrie"
Not this guy! I always thought this was just an old saw - "I'm so busy now that I don't know how I found time to work!". That pretty much describes my six years of retirement. Wouldn't change a thing except have Marcia retire right now, not in two years.
Nick
"Valkyrie"
Pat Anderson
New member
I actually hope it is more like cruising the Great Loop! Not there is anything wrong with having a beer along the way!
El and Bill
New member
This year marks a milestone - more years of retirement than working years (since finishing schooling).
I've worked since before kindergarten - back then in my Dad's lab, washing test tubes, and a zillion odd jobs while in school years to make money, ranging from manufacturing match folders in our family basement with family photos of the buyer, to writing a kid column in our town paper, to assisting the mapping of the geology of Glen Canyon before the flooding of Lake Powell. But those were interim jobs while continuing schooling.
At age 50, the last kid was going to college in the fall. and the house would be just us. That summer we paddled down the Missouri River in a two-person kayak for two months -it was the first time we had had so much time just us together since our first child arrived - and on that paddle trip we loved sharing all our time and experiences together. It dawned on us after the trip that in our lives together, in a sense, we worked for money, for our needs, but also mostly to have time - time free for our family - and that time earning money and time together were not usually compatible. So - with a choice of more time together or more money, after that kayak trip, we opted for time together rather than more money - that fall we resigned our teaching jobs.
Now we have had as much time 'retired' together as working 'together.' It was the right choice. We love to travel, and have been together to visit all the continents, and many times to most. We love trains, so we had time to rail around the world. We share a love of water, and have lived on the water 10 of our married years. We love being outdoors - and have shared 6 1/2 months living continuously outdoors together as we walked from Georgia to Maine on the Appalachian Trail.
Retired, we have been 'just plain useful.' When a grandchild is about to be born, we are there - six times now. When a family member is ill, we can be counted on to be there helping. We share trips - overseas, camping, hiking, boating - with friends, or with the kids and g'kids when possible. We watch them graduate, cheer at their sports events, go to dance competitions and debate contests. We eat the fish they catch, the first elk they shoot, the first attempt to make a "tofu delight" dinner.
We have time to listen - to laugh - to cry - sharing the lives of friends and family, through births, hard times, and death. 'Just plain useful'
A friend told us, when we said we were about to quit the jobs we loved, "I don't understand - how can you? Your lives will be so unproductive!"
Welcome to the "unproductive" life of retirement , Bill.
I've worked since before kindergarten - back then in my Dad's lab, washing test tubes, and a zillion odd jobs while in school years to make money, ranging from manufacturing match folders in our family basement with family photos of the buyer, to writing a kid column in our town paper, to assisting the mapping of the geology of Glen Canyon before the flooding of Lake Powell. But those were interim jobs while continuing schooling.
At age 50, the last kid was going to college in the fall. and the house would be just us. That summer we paddled down the Missouri River in a two-person kayak for two months -it was the first time we had had so much time just us together since our first child arrived - and on that paddle trip we loved sharing all our time and experiences together. It dawned on us after the trip that in our lives together, in a sense, we worked for money, for our needs, but also mostly to have time - time free for our family - and that time earning money and time together were not usually compatible. So - with a choice of more time together or more money, after that kayak trip, we opted for time together rather than more money - that fall we resigned our teaching jobs.
Now we have had as much time 'retired' together as working 'together.' It was the right choice. We love to travel, and have been together to visit all the continents, and many times to most. We love trains, so we had time to rail around the world. We share a love of water, and have lived on the water 10 of our married years. We love being outdoors - and have shared 6 1/2 months living continuously outdoors together as we walked from Georgia to Maine on the Appalachian Trail.
Retired, we have been 'just plain useful.' When a grandchild is about to be born, we are there - six times now. When a family member is ill, we can be counted on to be there helping. We share trips - overseas, camping, hiking, boating - with friends, or with the kids and g'kids when possible. We watch them graduate, cheer at their sports events, go to dance competitions and debate contests. We eat the fish they catch, the first elk they shoot, the first attempt to make a "tofu delight" dinner.
We have time to listen - to laugh - to cry - sharing the lives of friends and family, through births, hard times, and death. 'Just plain useful'
A friend told us, when we said we were about to quit the jobs we loved, "I don't understand - how can you? Your lives will be so unproductive!"
Welcome to the "unproductive" life of retirement , Bill.
El and Bill
New member
Good idea, Bill on NORO - we just zip lined in Panama, before Christmas
Da Nag":spu6tt81 said:El and Bill":spu6tt81 said:
Not quite...that's why I'm "contemplating".
We're under the 100 day mark, though. Calendars can be such a tease.
It's good to have a "short range" goal.
Wishing you all the best with these double-digit days. :thup Keep us posted with your countdown.We enjoyed our careers, but retirement has been my favorite job so far.
Best wishes,
Jim
I decided to retire to part-time last year. For me, given my job, it means that I can work three months, take three months off and so on. I didn't want to work part of each day or even just a few days a week. I wanted the time to do other things. I love my job but I also love so many other things. Right now I'm in a three-month non-work phase. Gee how nice it is. I recommend retirement!! I'll retire full time when I no longer look forward to my next three months at work. Until then I think I have the best of both worlds.
By the way I know the anticipation of the 'day.' When I started my first non-work span how sweet it was!
By the way I know the anticipation of the 'day.' When I started my first non-work span how sweet it was!
Well, I'm pretty well into our 13th year of retirement. While it's been great so far, more and more I'm thinking of Branch Rickey's quote of symptoms to look out for at this stage;
"First you forget names; then you forget faces; then you forget to zip up your fly; and then you forget to unzip your fly." - Branch Rickey
"First you forget names; then you forget faces; then you forget to zip up your fly; and then you forget to unzip your fly." - Branch Rickey
El and Bill":1sdamoer said:
Man, you are the adventurous ones! My suggestion to Da Nag was actually prompted, by this Bungee Bust. My tongue would have been in my cheek, but my mouth had dropped so far open I dislocated my jaw. I've been saying lately that now that I'm getting on in years, I actually have a lot less to lose, and so I'm willing to take more risks. However, YIIIIKES! :shock:
Pat Anderson
New member
My countdown app on my iPhone tells me 721 days - those are calendar days, not working days. Planning, planning, planning!
20dauntless
New member
NORO LIM":1wuqw5oz said:
I did this very same bungee jump a little over a year ago. Needless to say, the video is pretty terrifying!