Retirement Not A Easy Thing

by Roger o Cox
(West Virginia)

Retirement: every working person's dream... then the big day.

In a week, I was climbing the walls. I had all this time on my hands and nothing to do.

It's easy to find something you like to do to fill the time, for me it was cycling. ok, the problem was taken care of - wait no not true.

After two week of cycling each day, I found one cycling did not fill eight hours a day, five days a week. Two, I was out of shape. oh, I had been cycling for a lot of years before stopping work but only two or three hours on the weekends.

The real truth for me was I need lots of things to do. Age and health matters when looking for something to fill your day.

I do not cycle anymore. In Jan I will have been retired for eleven years.

Be ready for changes, they will happen all ways. Be looking for some new that you might like to do.

I can fill two hours just taking myself out to lunch or a hour on the river bank looking at the river trees flowers on an afternoon drive.

Think out of the box when looking for something to do. I remember watching my child playing video games as she grew up, thinking, man I wish they made them when I was a kid! Me, at age 67, getting a video game system. I love my fishing game, easy way to fill a few hours!

Comments for Retirement Not A Easy Thing

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Video Games
by: Valerie

My husband and I love to play video games! We go online from the Xbox and find others to play with too. I never did this as a kid. We spend hours meeting challenges, reaching silly goals and killing monsters. It’s a lot of fun. I also love to play sudoku on my iPad.
Retirement - Not What You Think
by: Canadian Retiree

I like your statement: "Retirement: every working person's dream... then the big day."

I actually retired about 3 years ago, following 2 years of Cancer treatments, so actually it feels longer to me. I had thought about going back to work for a couple of more years, but I had considered retirement for so many years prior to my cancer that it started looking like a great idea. However, it was more like falling off a cliff once I took the plunge. I was panic stricken at first and thought I made a huge mistake.

Like you I didn't have any real plans or ideas of what to do with my time. I kept thinking maybe of returning to work part-time but that wasn't to be. The longer I was off the harder the concept of working became.

I finally took art lessons and have found something I enjoy doing with a group. I also have a stationary bike and do exercise as much as possible at home.

It's lonely at times, just my husband and I at home. He is retired, but not in good health, so we don't have much social life.

I miss my former coworkers and the structure of a job but I'm getting better at finding ways to fill my time. It's kind of ironic that all the times at work I dreamt of retiring, I now miss working...go figure!
Explore new ideas and start planning!
by: Michael - Sunny and Warm Venice Florida

I think health matters, but not age. Making plans and setting goals gives you something to look forward to, and that helps.

I'm 56 now and cycle 150 miles per week - sometimes more. I'm lucky to live in two places during the year, so I always have pleasant weather.

Many of the other cyclists I see here in Florida are much older than I am, and many of them whiz past me on the roads and trails!

I am planning to ride the entire length of our Legacy Trail on my 100th birthday - 9 years prior to the age I hope to reach - 109!

You can always find things to do or not do. I sleep at least eight hours each night. I have started reading more books. I bake more and try new recipes. Today, I made a lemon-dijon salad dressing.

I retired early at 51. Sometimes I miss the structure of having a job. But, I cringe at the thought of having to find a job, especially when it is no longer necessary.

So, I focus on my reading, writing, art, architecture, and gardening. I read a book on barn quilts, and am now designing a barn quilt for my upstate NY farm. The worst part is that I have to wait until Spring to return to my summer home.

Now, if I can only motivate myself to finish the painting in my bathroom that I started last year! Who knows, maybe that bathroom needs a barn quilt!
Like the Ideas
by: Anonymous

I love this article. I am now going to look into getting my own video game thing.

The other day I learned how to do origami swans. After 30 I thought to take a break. Now they are everywhere. My eventual goal is to get to 100 ( when I feel like doing them again).

You see, it seems that with all my newfound free time, I "want to do's" gets scattered among my "shoulds"..and god forbid a "have to" pops up.

By the end of the week, I find myself confused and not sure of just what I did in my week.

Come Sunday, I decide "Oh, the heck with it"...and start another week all over again. lol
RETIREMENT IS NOT EASY
by: Bernard Kelly - Geelong


Hello Roger o Cox (West Virginia)

Retirement is not easy because it's the first time in our lives when we're free to make our own decisions.

As a child, our parents told us what to do. Then we had school teachers, then a boss - and now? we're all on our own.

The solution is to go back to when we were 8 years old, and then 12 years old, and that age 16.

At each age, recall what your big dreams were.

You still have them, filed away in a disused drawer in your brain.

So go back, find them, dust them off, and IMPLEMENT.

cheers

I'm Bernard Kelly
find me on Facebook - search for hobby2income

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