Re: Retiring

sidsmom · ‎11-25-2011

@occasionalrain wrote:
I'm a realist. I see the retired, most are no longer current or vital. I have no desire to join them. Volunteers are not decision makers, not taken seriously, I have no desire to join them.

I reduced my hours some back when there were massive layoffs so as to allow another to remain employed which gives me more free time. Other than that, I have no plans or desire to retire.

"...gives me more free time."

How is that different from retiring?

Just interchanging words.

Burnsite · ‎03-10-2010

I am putting retirement off as long as possible, partly because I would like a bit more money in the war chest, but mainly because I really like my job. It forces me often to do things I am a bit afraid to do (like public speaking). That's good for me; I like a challenge.

So @Kalli, I can see with what you're saying in your post and agree with your mixed feelings. But as this is a big transition, it's too soon to know how you'll feel about it once you adjust. My brother retired about 6 years ago and he is healthier and happier. He was a doctor, lots of pressure. He's now able to take better care of his own health (he'd had a heart attack) and bikes and exercises and has lost weight and just seems very centered and good.

Where I live in S FL, though, I do see retired people who seem lost and disoriented. Everyone takes things in differently. I don't know how I will react for sure, but my hunch is I will not like it. Anyway, I can't afford it right now, and just as well.

.

Dominosmom · ‎07-17-2010

please consider volunteering. look around your community and there will be other volunteers ready to welcome you in. Local churches, hospitals, schools and local community rec centers will welcome you in to help. It will replace the void you are experiencing and give you an opportunity to meet new people from all walks of life.

DoneTryin · ‎03-09-2010

@occasionalrain wrote:

@QueenDanceALot wrote:
Many people have many years left to live after retirement.

I can't imagine seeing nothing but the Grim Reaper approaching for 20 or 30 years.

Neither can I.
I was a SAHM because, to me, a child deserves to have his own mother caring for him. Now I have a job that I enjoy, I contribute. Retirement means marking time, filling it with non essential activity or becoming an unpaid nanny to grandchildren, a nursemaid to aging parents. Those of retirement age who remain in the workforce statistically live longer than those who retire.

What???

I wouldn't retire, either, if I had such a negative outlook.

SeaMaiden · ‎03-10-2010

I love not working. Do not miss my job of 25 years AT ALL. I love doing nothing if I want to. I am not busy at all. I feel no need to keep busy.

SeaMaiden · ‎03-10-2010

@teainlondon wrote:
I wish I could tell you how happy I am that I am retired, but I am not. I grieve every day for the interaction with colleagues. I found that many who still work distance themselves and I don't have anything in common with them since I am not in the thick of it. I was busy and going and enjoyed the meetings and discussions. Now that is not a part of my life. I don't like to be by myself. It's just my DH and me. He is retired but still works part time. He has a reason to get out of the house and be with people. I am at home alone.

I mourn every day and often am too depressed to do anything. I was never a housewife; I had domestic help that did the cleaning and cooking. Now that's left to me, and I am a lousy housewife.

I would give anything if I could go back to work.

How sad you can not enjoy the rest of your life.

MaggieMack · ‎10-01-2014

@occasionalrain wrote:

@QueenDanceALot wrote:
Many people have many years left to live after retirement.

I can't imagine seeing nothing but the Grim Reaper approaching for 20 or 30 years.

Neither can I.
I was a SAHM because, to me, a child deserves to have his own mother caring for him. Now I have a job that I enjoy, I contribute. Retirement means marking time, filling it with non essential activity or becoming an unpaid nanny to grandchildren, a nursemaid to aging parents. Those of retirement age who remain in the workforce statistically live longer than those who retire.

While I was still working, I played "nursemaid" to a DH with a terminal disease for four years. I would do it all over again, as I would being "nursemaid" to my father who outlived DH by 43 years. I would like to read the statistics cited. Maybe there is another factor involved, like losing a spouse. My dad lived to 93, and I fully expect to live that long, also. I am much healthier than he was and I invest my energies in the world outside of myself.

No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. - Aesop

Vivian · ‎03-11-2010

I retired in 2008. I was an academic advisor at my alma mater, an Ivy League university. I received a great deal of gratification helping students who were having serious academic problems. However, the bureaucracy of the university was a tremendous challenge. So now I'm a happy alumna and a very satisfied retiree

scotnovel · ‎12-31-2013

@teainlondon wrote:
I wish I could tell you how happy I am that I am retired, but I am not. I grieve every day for the interaction with colleagues. I found that many who still work distance themselves and I don't have anything in common with them since I am not in the thick of it. I was busy and going and enjoyed the meetings and discussions. Now that is not a part of my life. I don't like to be by myself. It's just my DH and me. He is retired but still works part time. He has a reason to get out of the house and be with people. I am at home alone.

I mourn every day and often am too depressed to do anything. I was never a housewife; I had domestic help that did the cleaning and cooking. Now that's left to me, and I am a lousy housewife.

I would give anything if I could go back to work.

Have you tried volunteer work? Right after I retired I volunteered at a botanical research facility mounting plant specimens. I was able to connect with lots of new people in a field completely different from what I had done. It was very meaningful. There are so many volunteer opportunities in every community that provide tons of options to meet new people and to help you feel that you are contributing.

Have you tried taking some classes just for fun - arts and craft stuff or even non credit classes at a local college?

scotnovel · ‎12-31-2013

I love retirement. At first it felt weird to be in my house so much that I would plan something out of the house almost every day - movies, museums, craft classes, etc. It only took a few weeks to realize that it is ok to be at home and not be on the go all the time. The first few months I did all those jobs that I could never get around to when I was working - sorting and organizing closets, drawers, personal paperwork, etc. I also did volunteer work to meet new folks and to contribute to the community.

Retirement gives you so many options. Good luck to you. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.