I paid my dues. Fifty-five plus years in the work force; almost eleven years in the job I left three weeks ago and twenty-six years in the job prior to that. I have no regrets about retiring; as abrupt as the decision may have been, it was time.
In the past year as I took the final financial steps to simplify my life in retirement - closing a seldom used credit card, moving money into an FDIC insured account, automating bill payments - I kept wondering when the day would come. The actual retirement date was out there in the ethers, no set target date. But, as often happens, events conspired to force a decision. I spent the first two weeks of retirement getting over the flu. Three weeks of that misery needs no repetition.
The reality of retirement is that I'm no longer bound by a timeclock or paycheck calendar. I don't have to be anywhere. I still wake early without an alarm, by 5 a.m. I'm out the door for my brisk morning walk. Home to savor the sunrise from my balcony followed by breakfast at my desk while playing gin rummy on computer. But from then on the day is completely mine. No running to get in my car at 7:10 to be at work by 7:30. No going from work straight to the laundry or grocery shopping. Work is no longer a factor in the rhythm of my daily life.
That will take getting used to.
Penny Pincher
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