Road to Perdition?

by Marylyn, north Alabama

I retired in May of 2016 at age 66 from a university staff position that kept me very busy. I was also taking lots of free classes that the university offered.

In June I took a trip north to visit relatives and friends in New England. Then in the fall I got my first dog (a fuzzy rescue terrier whom I'm in love with). I was waking up at about 8:30 am, which was OK with me. Then my 14-year-old nephew came to live with us, and I was getting up at 6:30 am to make his breakfast before school. I did a lot of driving during 2017-2018.

Now that he's gone back to his mother's (overseas), I have started sleeping until 10 am. Things that I used to hurry through now seem to take hours. I got in the habit of cooking dinner every day for my husband, but aside from that, I don't have much going on except the dog walks.

I like to write, and have been doing that in the evenings. I try to keep from drinking too much. I am not "unhappy," but my sister (the nephew's mother) thinks I'm on the road to perdition (she's only 58 and still working and doing CrossFit). My husband is fine with it all. I find myself fiercely NOT wanting to go to the gym, although I do that sometimes.

I am trying to pay attention to my inner wants, but it's hard to hear them after years of ignoring them. I used to be active in the arts community, but everyone I worked with on performance events has gotten older and a new generation has taken over the arts center. I do feel a bit strange these days, and I was very glad to find this website and skim the comments written by sleepy retired people!

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