Day Four of Retirement (vacations, retired, vacation, friends)

[normie]

Just a brief note, checking in on the fourth day of my retirement.

Things are looking up. Now that I am getting used to the idea, I like it. It's still feels wierd not to go into the office (and especially wierd because the office is on the first floor of my house). I'm still making the coffee in the morning, and still trying to figure out how to be socialble to everyone but not hanging around.

You want to feel strange? Try being outside, gardening on a beautiful day, and periodically waving at the people inside who are still working but every once in awhile are drifting to the windows to look at the blue sky--and you.

I feel a little like an animal in the zoo--but then I can't help but laugh at such a silly situation. And one good thing--it encourages me to get out of the house. I'm not tempted to just hang around and watch tv.

Yesterday my new best friends and I went to a park called Meadowlark Gardens. Even in the dead of winter, this is a beautiful place. We sat on some benches overlooking a lake and tried sketching the geese landing on the lake. In my drawing the geese looked like winged armadillos but that's ok, it was fun.

We sepnt a long time there, making a point to see things we neevr saw before. We made a point of listening to how many different bird songs there are. We noticed how many daffodill tips are starting to poke through the dirt--hundreds of them--something about that is so cheerful. They're signs of spring that I am suddenly seeing everywhere, even if spring is still months away.

We stopped to talk to some volunteers who were in one of the flower beds. I was a little concerned that the daffodills might get damaged by the snows that are bound to come. They said no--daffodills are tough little plants that simply adapt. They wait out the hard times and as soon as a warm breeze returns they start growing again.

Now I don't mean to get corny (and this was something I've known before now) but it was just what I needed to hear yesterday. I think spending time in a garden is a good way to process emotions.

This garden needs volunteers. The work isn't hard, and it's up to you how much you do. Volunteers get free membership and are invited to classes and parties. I'm going to try it. I think retirement is going to be ok.

[MotleyCrew]

How wonderful for you. I hope you fill your days with pleasurable activities.

[humboldtrat]

It's only been 4 days!! Give it a while and the novelty of retirement will wear off. There will be days when you're bored to death with the winter months being the worst. When I retired, I realized that I missed the routine of getting up and doing something for 8 - 10 hours and I missed the people I worked with.

I tend to visit the library quite a bit and in the first year of retirement, I read more books than I had read in the last ten years. Good luck to you.

[normie]

Originally Posted by humboldtrat

It's only been 4 days!! Give it a while and the novelty of retirement will wear off. There will be days when you're bored to death with the winter months being the worst. When I retired, I realized that I missed the routine of getting up and doing something for 8 - 10 hours and I missed the people I worked with.

That's ok, there were plenty of days when I was working that I was bored to death, too.

I think the trick to a happy life is to make peace with stillness. It was certainly the trick to running a business from my home. For years I had no co-workers, no companions, and often nothing to do for days on end.

I worry about people who spend all their free time in constant activity. They seem to have happiness confused with endless stimulation. IMO, people who fall into this trap are likely to end up exhausted and not accomplishing much.

Anyway, what do I know--as you point out I'm a newbie. But thanks for your well wishes.

[Tressa]

Normie congrats, I'm jealous I have 143 days left before I can join the retirement group. The first week I hope to sleep in until I wake up and then we will start our transition from Alaska to Nevada for the winter months but have to build a place down there first.

[normie]

Thanks! I'm still getting used to the idea--this time last week I would have guessed you'd be retiring before me. Sometimes decision get made on our behalf. Just one more reason to start thinking about it long before the day actually arrives.

[brightdoglover]

Four days! I'm sure you took vacations that were much longer than that!
And yes, there are many days where I'm bored sick by working. I'd prefer the possible boredom of retirement in a flash.
At my night job last night, as I sat in an overheated room and watched a demented woman in case she woke up and got crazy, as I felt my back aching from staying up and so tired of the lousy environment/overheated stale air/boredom, I thought of all the unemployed people who need jobs and don't have them, and how they'd love to have my situation.
Still, I live for the end of my shift. At most, I have ten more years to go.

[skydiver_jim]

Originally Posted by normie

Thanks! I'm still getting used to the idea--this time last week I would have guessed you'd be retiring before me. Sometimes decision get made on our behalf. Just one more reason to start thinking about it long before the day actually arrives.

Amen! I've got 1450 days to go, and I think about it more and more!

[Ellwood]

I can't wait! I'm sure there will be days I will be bored, but like others have said, I have been bored to death by my job. I would rather watch grass grow than go to work everyday. My first line of business will be picking up my new puppy who was born on New Year's Day.

[knoxgarden]

That puppy will keep you busy. And you'll have time to enjoy him.
I've found that birdbaths and small fountains provide considerable enjoyment for me and my cats. I've put them so we can watch them from inside. It's interesting to see the interaction between the different birds, who the bullies are, which ones sing, what they gather for nests (which get built in my pots).
One day, I had three hummingbirds all sipping from the small streams coming off a little fountain. Magical.