topic Re: I like being retired in Community Chat

I like being retired

GoneButNotForgotten — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 05:23:24 GMT

I really do. Right now I'm going through a siege of insomnia and the only thing good about it is that when I'm half dead due to lack of sleep I don't have to get up and drag myself off to work in the morning. My DH sleeps like a baby so he has enought energy to get both of us through the day.

Thank goodness for retirement and rested husbands! :-)

Re: I like being retired

HisElk1 — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 05:50:57 GMT

@GoneButNotForgotten wrote:
I really do. Right now I'm going through a siege of insomnia and the only thing good about it is that when I'm half dead due to lack of sleep I don't have to get up and drag myself off to work in the morning. My DH sleeps like a baby so he has enought energy to get both of us through the day.

Thank goodness for retirement and rested husbands! :-)

@GoneButNotForgotten , boy do we ever have alot in common.

By the time I fall asleep, DH already has a head start of at least 3 hours on me. Thank goodness I don't have to get up early anymore for work.

Re: I like being retired

kaydee50 — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 06:46:25 GMT

@GoneButNotForgotten Agree 100%! It's now 1:45 am and if I had to go to work I'd be worrying that I'd be too tired during the day. But it doesn't matter--I'll take my nap!

Re: I like being retired

Kitlynn — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 09:10:55 GMT

I love being retired and I agree with you 100%. I have had insomnia since I was a little kid. I am also a night person so that makes it even worse. My husband is a morning person but it works great for us as he does the morning stuff and I do the night stuff. Now that I am retired and not being in the office at 6:00 A.M. for the East Coast people like I use to be it is great. I am also an avid reader so I read to my hearts content. Right now it is 3:00 A.M. and I am just now thinking about heading to bed. It doesn't matter as I have no time schedule to deal with anymore.

Re: I like being retired

Carolina925 — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 11:09:36 GMT

Retired for 7 years now and I love each day more and more. If I get wide awake during the night, I'll just read until my eyes get heavy. I like to sleep whenever I choose and eat whenever I choose. I worked 60 hr weeks for the last 20 years before retirement and hated being on such a rigid schedule. I rarely sleep in, still get up around 5 AM, but love the idea that I can wake up when my body says and not when circumstances say.

Re: I like being retired

lovesallanimals — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 11:16:11 GMT

I agree! I Looooooooooove retirement! I never take any morning for granted. I also cannot sleep through the night. I then read to my hearts content, never having to worry about getting up to travel t work. I get up when I want, do what I want, when I want. I love the freedom of retirement and do not miss for one instant working all year with a measly few weeks off. Getting up early, getting home late - Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, love it.

Re: I like being retired

Rockycoast — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 11:24:52 GMT

We love been retired! It is the best! Traveling, gardening, walks on the beach, going out for drinks and apps on the spur of the moment and enjoying each other's company. Time to ourselves to do what and when we want. Husband sleeps better than I. I'm usually up before the crack of dawn, but that is what a nap is for if I get too tired.

Re: I like being retired

software — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 11:44:01 GMT

I too love retirement.

I loved my job & miss the people but I LOVE retirement.

I lived modestly while working, investing every penny I could squeeze out of my meager paycheck.

I encourage my daughter to do the same. She has a good job, I tell her you won't miss that $20 per paycheck and when you see how fast your money grows, you'll invest more. She's single, I'm a widow so financial security is critical.

Personally when I've had a lazy day, I don't sleep at night. My definition of a lazy day is just doing the daily simple chores, not getting out. On the days I get plenty of mental & physical stimulation, I sleep like a rock.

Re: I like being retired

chrystaltree — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 11:56:47 GMT

I cannot say I love being retired but I do like it. I miss doing relevant, important work. I miss my career but I love having my life to myself. If I want to sleep late, I can. Late being 7am. I'm generally up at 6am. I can go out when I want to. I retired at 62, that was never my plan. But new management came in, they brought their crowd with them. They had their own way of doing things. Working with became too stressful. It took 2 years for me to settle into retired life. I'm sorry about your insomnia. Perhaps you should see a sleep specialist. Post retirement, my health has improved. I have had a myriad of health issues for years but some have lessened. My chronic pain, is much better. My lower back pain has disappeared. Ive been eating healthy and I have lost 55 lbs since last August. Full disclosure, I do take Trulicity, a GLP1 medication for weight loss. It's hard to describe but my mind is clearer because I no longer have the stress of work on my mind 24/7. I admit, there are times when I'm a little bored. There are clothes that I would love to own but my life is relaxed and casual now. Even church is dressed down and casual.

Re: I like being retired

meallen616 — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 12:01:28 GMT

Re: I like being retired

Carolina925 — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 12:09:46 GMT

Forgot to mention those yucky, rainy, stormy days when I can watch the weather through my window and not have to venture out in the storm, or in the wintertime when it was dark when I left for work and dark when I got home. I had a volunteer tree grow in my yard that was too big for a simple removal by the time I discovered it.

Re: I like being retired

vermint — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 12:28:22 GMT

After 48 years of being on someone else's schedule, doing what I want pretty much when I want is blissful! It's only been a year for me, and I'm still working from home a couple hours a month but even that will end within a month or so.

Like someone else said, not having to go out in bad weather is much less stressful. Also, not having to deal with so much business "red tape", not to mention some of the people, has been way better for my blood pressure, lol!

We didn't save as much as we should have, but we are living a much simpler life now so hopefully we'll be OK. I try not to worry about "maybes". We don't eat out as much, don't spend nearly so much on gas, don't need dressier clothes for work, so all that helps.

Re: I like being retired

on the bay — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 12:29:29 GMT

@Carolina925,

Your writing is like a lyrical poem. I found myself reading it several times. I could just feel the storms and laying in bed watching thru the window.

Did you ever think of writing?

Re: I like being retired

ninjawife — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 12:56:40 GMT

@GoneButNotForgotten wrote:
I really do. Right now I'm going through a siege of insomnia and the only thing good about it is that when I'm half dead due to lack of sleep I don't have to get up and drag myself off to work in the morning. My DH sleeps like a baby so he has enought energy to get both of us through the day.

Thank goodness for retirement and rested husbands! :-)

@GoneButNotForgotten I resigned from my school district job in mid June and won't start my new job until mid August. Even though I work in a school district, I usually work in the summer. I also have had insomnia for the past few weeks. I go to bed at 10:00 as I did when I was working but I am wide awake from 11:30 until about 2:00 or 3:00. This morning I got up early - 8:30 most days I have been sleeping in until 9:30.

Re: I like being retired

Sooner — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 13:00:18 GMT

I was very invested in my job. It was difficult and I loved the challenges. We had a good atmosphere and a lot of fun but it wasn't easy. A few rotten apples I don't miss.

But retirement is way better and I've loved every minute. I am never ever bored. It was a surprise to me. I would hate to work in today's environment.

Re: I like being retired

Carolina925 — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 13:11:18 GMT

@on the bay , that's so sweet of you. I grew up in a time where reading and writing were important. I'm very thankful for those literature classes and some wonderful teachers who taught me the importance of the written word.

Re: I like being retired

Meowingkitty — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 13:29:56 GMT

I was so sick of corporate America that when I got laid off in 2014 it was a blessing and I was the only one who had a smile on their face in the meeting. Never went back to work. Don't miss it either. No office drama, no commute, no what am I going to wear today, no office politics. Do what I want, if I want, when I want. If I don't sleep well, it's no big deal. I too would hate todays work environment. I don't like to play stupid corporate games.

Re: I like being retired

depglass — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 13:34:07 GMT

I find I'm busier now than when I was working. I don't know how I would ever fit in a structured job.

Re: I like being retired

Carmie — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 13:34:11 GMT

I retired at age 55, then volunteered at a school for four hours a day five days a week until the pandemic hit.

I don't miss work at all, but I do miss the kids from the school. Every now and again, I will see one of them in the grocery store and it is such a rush when they run up to me for a hug.

My husband retired from his full time job at age 62 and his part time job at age 67. We are both home now doing what we want to do whenever we want to.

Life is good. We are blessed with good health and don't take that for granted.

Sometimes I feel guilty that my mother never got to retire. She worked full time more than eight hours a day and died in her sleep at age 62.

Some people have a need to work their whole life. My sister's friend who is 84 still works full time at a job she has been doing since she graduated from high school.

She has another friend who is 79 and she still works as a waitress. She loves her job.

Not me. As far as work goes, I am outta there.

Re: I like being retired

CANDLEQUEEN — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 13:55:51 GMT

I am still working full time at 64, and have no plans to retire soon, maybe in 2 years...My husband will be 67 in September and plans to retire by November of this year. He works in an Assembly Factory and its hard work-on your feet, so his body is saying time to give it up! He is looking forward to retiring and having time to himself and relaxing.

I hope he isn't bored in a year, but if he is and wants to work a part time job somewhere it shouldn't be too hard to do..

I do envy retired people when it's reallybad weather nd I have to get out in it, or in the same sense, when its really beautiful out and I sit behind a desk, and can't be out in it....lol......

I am sure I will enjoy it once I do retire for sure! Looking foreward to it......