Our library house was one of my husbands "retirement " projects.
I noticed that you are retiring in a little while. The time has come at long last. And let me tell you all those things you have been reading about retirement probably are true especially if you got the information from an experienced retiree. Those of us have been writing about retirement and are out here where the rubber meets the road usually know what we’re talking about.
The first few months of being at home with a man who has been retired for quite a while will be a little stressful maybe. I for one had a husband that retired on the same day I did and we had to work out who is in charge of the dishwasher and where the silverware would be stored. He had a really bad habit in my mind of moving the things around in the kitchen to become more "ergonomically correct". I will never get the time back I spent looking for stuff. We have been retired over 20 years now and I realize that he has the same problems finding thing as I do. It was just that I was not used to sharing my world.
In today’s world, most of us come from a position that gives us a lot of power in our jobs. Our husbands have risen in their work life to be either the supervisor or boss of a lot of people. They’re not used to taking orders from their wife and that makes them a little cranky.
I suppose it was only the delight of waking up in the morning and knowing we were retired and even though we did not work we would still be paid that eased the frustration we both felt.
We all have so many dreams. A second home, endless travel, many games of golf with guys or gals...I have been watching and listening to retiree for a long time. Every story is about the same with variations on the theme. Second careers and volunteering compete with people’s need to just do absolutely nothing. Guilt about idle hours seem to prey on people’s mind.
And then there is the inevitable boredom. Once all the ‘fun’ things have been exhausted and the need to remain "useful" is satisfied that the retiree realizes that what they do with the rest of their life is a choice. They will need to find a new routine of their own making.
If you put the tag Retirement 2018 in the search space at the top left hand corner of this blog, you will find a series of blog posts on every thing from being a a snowbird to how retirees spend their days. Change the year to see what information is available from previous years going back to 2010 and earlier.
Let me help you get get a grip on what you are in for. Retirement is so much fun. You can make the reality better than the dream.
Do you have a retirement story?
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20 Awkward Steps To Our Happy Retirement or There Wasn’t a Guidebook is one of my favorite posts. Look it up.
I highly recommend retirement, especially after working for 40 years. I worked in libraries which are places I love but was very ready to retire and did so at age 64. Now I have time to read, watch British TV shows, volunteer at a retirement home, and more. Ain't it great? Yes, but I am heart broken that my hubby died suddenly so we can't enjoy these years together.
ReplyDeleteA couple of our neighbors have a library house, used mostly by kids but occasionally by adults as well. Kinda cool. When all is said and done, the issues around schedules at home with your spouse are pretty simple and easy compared to all the factors, egos and personalities in the workplace. We should all be experts.
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