I’m retired. I have been for about six months.
My coming retirement wasn’t a secret among those I worked with. The last month or two on the job I spent a lot of time hearing people congratulate me.
Since I quit I’ve heard lots of people wonder what I’m going to do now. “How’s retirement?” they ask me.
Unfortunately, I still don’t have good answers to any of those questions.
I think I have enough money, due to some planning and a lot of good fortune. But what will my life be like?
You’ll have to get back to me on that one.
I don’t like to call retirement reinventing your life because that sounds so intimidating. But it is what you’re doing.
You’re reminded of that on those days you wake up and realize that you’ve got a whole day ahead of you, and you don’t know what you’re going to do with it.
A friend and co-worker told me, “Retirement means I get to quit my day job.” That suggests there’s another thing you can pursue that is unprofitable but satisfying, and now you’re able to do it.
The trick is knowing what that other thing is.
It’s occurred to me to get involved with a charity. I’ve made the occasional donation but I’ve never really done charitable work. It’s something my Mennonite relations do a lot of. It would give me a purpose and it would feed the soul.
I’ve known retirees from my ex-employer, a public broadcasting station in San Diego, who have continued to work there, freelance or part-time. That’s an option that would have the advantage of padding my wallet a little bit more.
But I worked there for a VERY long time. Twenty-eight years! Most of my memories are good ones but some are not. What I’m saying is I carry a little too much baggage to keep working at KPBS. No offense, but I wanna be done with that place.
I have spoken to a lot of people who have retired and those conversations are always helpful. Every person and every retirement is different so I think I just gotta find my own way. Naturally, I’m jealous — and a little irritated — when I meet people who say their retirement has been “just great!”
One thing I think I’ve got (fortunately or not) is a lot of time to figure it out. Both of my parents lived into their 90’s. My mom died at age 97. So I’m probably looking at a lot of time to fill. What the hell! I’ll think of something, right?
CUL-DE-SAC 