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Never had any jitters. A few months before we retired, our No/VA house was under contract, we were in the process of building our dream house in FL, we were becoming new grandparents in MA and we were eager to make it all work. The dream house was dreamy for a few years then we began craving a four seasons lifestyle which is fine because retirement, like any other time of life, is no different. You keep self correcting. What I love is that we haven't stopped dreaming. We're always wondering where our next move will be. We like to keep changing things up and now we have no jobs to anchor us anywhere.
I've got less than 2 months left. I'm part excited and part apprehensive.
I intended to take a couple of months just to chill, and then after that who knows?
I'll probably work somewhere at a no heavy lifting job for a relatively low wage. If I get a job offer that requires the knowledge, skills, and abilities of the profession I'm retiring from, they are going to have to pay me out the azz.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Leaving work was EZ.
Work has never been any more than a 'distraction' to me, and really got in the way of my free time for 35 yrs (I retired at age 49, but had worked FT and usually multiple jobs since age 15, I was on a Dairy Farm before that... thus I 'really' retired at age 15 )
2 months left? GET those loans and refi done. The day you retire, your cash flow options get quite limited (many choices run dry). (Don't go looking for a loan, or taking advantage of the 0 APR loans for Tractors, refrigerators, tires, and such. Granted nice to be debt free, but... not always the best plan to keep capital free for more fruitful adventures.
Jitters? Nope. Not for leaving, not for finding purpose 'post-employment'. Just the colonoscopy and other 'fun stuff' that follows retirement.
20 minutes after 'retiring' I was on the road to see some National Parks that I had missed out on.
No plans ahead, no schedule to return. I was NO LONGER on vacation, (with a cell phone / pager / computer dragging along) Yippee !!! I was FREE!
Last edited by StealthRabbit; 11-02-2013 at 09:25 AM..
newmarlig,
Your law firm gave pensions? Or were you not at a law firm? The law firm where I worked for 18 years did not give a pension - they had a 401(k) instead. And two other law firms where I worked after that had 401(k)'s instead of pensions too.
Sorry - it was a profit sharing plan which I rolled over into an IRA. And it was a law firm.
My husband finally retired at the end of August so we are still adjusting to our new life. For me, it was odd as on Sunday I would think, - okay so what do we need to do to get ready for next work week? After a few times my internal clock was reset and that no longer happens. We have been exhausted meeting our new Medicare doctors and having all the missed tests done so we don't know how we managed to fit work into our prior life. We are still experimenting with different things we want to be involved with and continue our work at our local library.
At first some of the people my husband used to work with tried to keep in touch, but, the bottom line is that we no longer have much in common with them, however we wish them the best in their life's journey. It is so nice to not have to play the game anymore!
Retirees, when you were down to the last few months or weeks of work and looking ahead at this vast unknown continent called retirement, how did you feel?
Here's a picture of me for the past week (since I "put in my papers," as they say): off-balance, anxious, awake at night, and spending a lot of time organizing my lists. I'm almost afraid to look at the sunlight at the end of the tunnel -- will it turn out to be an illusion? Is this really happening?
I felt EXACTLY the same.
I loved my job, which only compounded my anxiety.
This month marks two years since I retired and I've never had one second's regret. It's been the best two years of my life.
I don't even make lists anymore.
My identity and purpose and place in the world and sense of accomplishment were somewhat tied up with my profession. But somehow it did not take me long to get over that and put it in the past!
I do sometimes miss the intellectual challenges of my work, but not so much that I would ever want to be working again because a good deal of negative things go along with being put in the position of working.
I've found other intellectual challenges to substitute for what my work provided, and the tradeoffs of working versus not working are 100 percent on the side of NOT working!!
P.S. newmarlig, wow, a profit sharing plan certainly is nice - did that substitute for a 401(k) or did your law firm have both 401(k) and profit sharing plans?
I appreciate all the great input here. So many of you have said things that are helping me get this in perspective. I wasn't online this morning as I've been cleaning out storage, dumping, reallocating stuff, etc. That alone is making me feel better!
I've decided that the jitteriness is due to many changes happening at once, and my trying to adjust to a few different losses and stay positive through the transition. I'm moving to a brand new area soon (the sooner the better -- my husband is already working there and we only get to see each other now twice a month), and my family is no longer here. My youngest daughter set out for California and is loving it there. My oldest lives there, too, and my middle daughter is in NC. Sadly, my mom is gone, and I am still going through her things and dad's, trying to figure out what goes and what stays. So I have no family here anymore.
The job used to be so much fun and so rewarding. We were a close-knit department at a university, and all of us felt that our work was valued. Unfortunately, due to a change in administration, the past year has really been hell and morale has gone way down throughout the department. I can't wait to get out of there, but at the same time I feel some pain at the memory of how things were. Why couldn't I leave on a happier note? I enjoy working with these people, but it is not the same as it was.
Added to that, I am just burned out, tired of working so hard. Also sad to leave the apartment I worked so hard to fix up. I just bought a fridge and range, and two years ago put in new carpet throughout. Just when I'm starting to enjoy it, I have to move!
Once I get settled up north, retirement reality will kick in, I'm sure. I can't wait to rest. At least, tonight we'll get an extra hour of sleep! Don't forget to fall back, folks.
Once I get settled up north, retirement reality will kick in, I'm sure. I can't wait to rest. At least, tonight we'll get an extra hour of sleep! Don't forget to fall back, folks.
Maybe it's better that so much is happening at once. You won't have time to think over the past. Every minute we are moving forward! I tend to grieve things gone by and so the busier, the better. I'm already thinking about our next adventure. Can't seem to stay still.
I felt resentment believe it or not. I was not ready to retire but my health forced me to close my business and drop all my clients. I was not happy about it, but I had no choice.
Once I calmed down (it took a while) I realized I enjoyed it. The only thing that would have made it better would have been Mrs. Tek retiring at the same time.
It's no different than any other change in life. You're going into the "unknown" and it will make you anxious until you get there and find out everything is okay.
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