Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
One minute I was in the middle of a meeting with a client, was called out of it, and fifteen minutes later, was being frogmarched to the door as I passed coworkers who had no idea what was going on but were trying to get my attention to stop and discuss a project. It was quite unsettling.
Many excellent and dedicated workers received this cruel treatment. One can only hope that the instigators receive(d) a similar farewell.
I don't relate to these "stages" at all. I have been retired almost 6 years. Never felt I had to reinvent myself. I am still me... just doing different things now.
Really depends on what you did in work. If you can do things in retirement much like work, or exactly like work, then there is no need to re-invent yourself.
If what you did in work is simply not available to you in retirement, then you may need to re-invent yourself to feel useful.
I’m in my 26th year of retirement, this is actually longer than my working years. At my current age I had to given up hiking in the mountains other than that life is great.
I used to know the father on one of my friends who worked for Dupont for 35 years. He retired at 60, and his goal was to live on his Dupont Pension for longer than he worked. He died at age 96 accomplishing his major goal of retirement. he was pretty crotchety in the end.
At my current age I had to given up hiking in the mountains other than that life is great.
My left foot has a loose joint that hurts a lot when I walk. Too much hiking I suspect. I may have to start cycling again. They say balance activities are great for the elderly.
I don't relate to these "stages" at all. I have been retired almost 6 years. Never felt I had to reinvent myself. I am still me... just doing different things now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by slyfox2
Really depends on what you did in work. If you can do things in retirement much like work, or exactly like work, then there is no need to re-invent yourself.
If what you did in work is simply not available to you in retirement, then you may need to re-invent yourself to feel useful.
I don't have a need to feel useful in retirement. Been there, done that during 40 years of working (and 15 of those years as a single mother). The last thing I want now is to be responsible for anyone else or to be responsible to anyone else for anything.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Submariner
My retirement honeymoon lasted a couple weeks.
We moved and built new identities that lasted about 3 years. Then we moved again and built second post-retirement identities.
This year we have had a shake-up and we are now going through yet another phase to a different kind of identity.
I am 15 years post-retirement.
What do you mean when you say you built new identities? I really don't get this idea of reinventing oneself.
That's interesting, about not needing to feel useful in retirement, and you've been there, done that for 40 years of working and 15 years as a single mother, ansible90.
I think that is an important point. Not everyone needs to feel useful in retirement. I do not need to feel particularly useful either. I did that for 40 years too.
Last edited by matisse12; 10-01-2016 at 06:50 PM..
... What do you mean when you say you built new identities? I really don't get this idea of reinventing oneself.
I served 20 years in the Navy, primarily on subs. During that time we collected a few apartment buildings at various duty stations. So my identity was submariner and on occasion landlord.
When I retired we were living over-seas. We returned stateside, my Dw started her career and we became foster-parents. We had fostered and adopted before but since I was usually living underwater 7 months a year, I really did very little of the parenting. Now as a retiree, I filled the role of Mister-Mom to an assortment of foster-children. After a few years the state social workers had burned us more than we could stand, we dropped our foster license and moved.
At our next location, I built a house by myself. Then a farm and I became an organic farmer, eventually selling farm produce at a Farmer's Market. I am still very active on our farm and now that my wife has retired, we both serve on a couple boards of county and state level Ag bodies. We do a lot to help Ag college students to get their own farms up and running.
Earlier this year my in-laws passed away leaving us a large inheritance, we have decided to invest in some buildings in a nearby town where the downtown district is mostly empty storefronts and derelict buildings. We will be cleaning a couple of these buildings and rehabbing them. Ideally to bring fresh life into a tired downtown district.
To me these are kind of separate roles that I have played. The people I have interacted with in each of these roles has known me in completely different contexts.
Your poll misses the concern I have. The idea of retirement is career/work based - you work for 30 years or so and then you retire. What I am feeling has nothing to do with the fact that my career stopped, it has to do with realizing that I am not as young as I used to be. I never really noticed that while working but now that I am able to get out and do more physical stuff, I am really noticing it and it is not so easy to deal with. And not just physical stuff - our retirement dream of going to plays, music, etc, every night is thwarted by the fact that what I really want is to go to bed no later than 10pm. It is exhausting being an old geezer.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
