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I am officially in the home stretch to my second retirement. While these past several months have felt like I’m running up a down escalator, I’m still plugging. And the clock keeps ticking, as clocks always do.
With an official retirement date of August 31, I can see light at the end of this tunnel – and it’s not a train.
The Final Sprint
So I feel as if I’m entering the final sprint to the finish line. These past months of life have not been easy. Compounded by daily commuting back into Washington D.C. But, the days keep rolling by and every day brings my impending life-change into sharper focus.
For example; as part of my duties I host a bi-weekly planning meeting. I’ve been running these for the past nearly five years, and the meetings are scheduled out for years into the future. As of now, I only have two more planned. At which point they become someone else’s job. And the world of this work will continue rolling on without me. While I’m rolling on into a different life of not scheduling my life in repeated two-week bites for endless years ahead.
Ready For What’s Next?
I want to think I’m ready for what’s coming next. I’ve seen so many former colleagues retire, hang around the house a couple of years, then go back to full-time work again. Their stated reason is always “I was bored and needed something to do.” Sometimes, there’s also an unstated reason that they need extra money. That their retirement income doesn’t support the retirement life they wanted to have.
I want to think I can do better than that. Not that I think I can spend my remaining time on planet Earth alternating between fishing and hanging out in my back yard. I do plan on being involved with activities that might resemble work, but are actually doing things I really want to do. If those activities happen to pay me, then OK. But I want to do these activities without needing them to pay my bills.
Which may be the real difference between “career activities” and “retirement activities.”
Meanwhile, Back At Home
Winnie was up visiting me this past week. Which always makes for a pleasant week of life-away-from-home. During the week of her too-short visit she took care of meals and general chores and chatting with my hosts. It was nice just being together as a semblance of normality again. Even if we were spending most of our time together hanging out in our RV. Being back home in Charlotte is another feature of retirement I’m looking forward to.
Last weekend we did spend a couple of nights RV camping at a in Maryland. It was the first weekend RV camping trip we’ve made together. I like to think that weekend was a dress rehearsal for lots of RV trips in our future. Another part of our future includes Winnie’s gardening. Somehow we’re going to have to reconcile summer gardening with traveling adventures. Along with kayaking and boating and bicycling and all the other activities that retired couples do together.
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