Three Years Retired
by Wendy
(www.retirement-online.com)
Wendy, Just relaxing, Summer 2012
Mid-April 2013 - I have completed my third full year of retirement. Woo Hoo!
You can read about my full three years of retirement here, but I now see it all a bit differently than previously reported. Interesting!
I think I chose to write on my website pages, when I was happy with retirement. If I was a bit down, in a rut, I had little to say, sound logical? Sound Familiar? I bet!
My first three years weren't Bad... but they weren't as productive, or active, as I would have guessed they'd have been. Like many of you, I also lost myself...
I help retirees on my website since 2008 -- and I am lost too? I think I was... and I only determined that in hindsight, I just wasn't ME.
My coach training last year required participants to coach and be coached... Hmmmm, I certainly didn't need that. Was I ever surprised how much it helped ME! Just someone to chat with, help me with my goals, and hold my hand while making me accountable. It was a great time of learning (about ME and coaching others). THAT training was the turning point for me!
In the past year, I've started to live more. I've gone through some personal changes and it feels good too!
Some highlights from Year 3 of Retirement:
April - December 2012 - Started training to be a Life Coach, with a specialty in Retirement. I decided I finally need to step in and help others through retirement, especially the transition phase I just experienced. I am now a Certified Retirement/Life Coach.
May 2012 - Volunteered to be the Food Coordinator for my church's Emergency Homeless Shelter for the second year. It's a week of hard work, much prep work, and totally fulfilling too! Loved it!
Summer 2012 - An important event this summer was a simple overnight getaway with two good friends.
We drove about an hour away to a cottage... stopping for lunch along the way. During the afternoon, we sat outdoors and shared some wine. That's me in the photo on the Lake (in my tie-dyed hippie dress).... its in the background, beyond that tree, but not visible in the photo. Shame... it's Lake Erie and just simply beautiful! We had dinner and attended a small hometown play that night.
It was a simple time, a wonderful time for simple friendships - I will never forget that blip in time.
October 2012 - Attended a website conference and loved every moment! I love to learn new concepts, keeping my brain engaged!
November 2012 - April 2013, I've attended six months of Stephen Ministry training for my church and thoroughly enjoyed it. Stephen Ministry is one-on-one Christian Care (the church matches a Stephen Minister with someone who needs help and they meet weekly, one hour, for a year maximum). Its a great program.
March 2013 - Believe it or not, an Iridologist/Herbologist from Ohio visited Michigan and read the eyes of many here. He takes a photo of your eye, and then reads the Iris... every little dot and color change means something. We didn't tell him any medical issues, and yet he could see what we had going on. He picked up thyroid, old surgeries, high blood pressure issues in my family members. Kinda weird...
Most of us purchased his herbs. He is 5th generation herbologist from Ohio. I have 4 mason jars full of herbs and take a teaspoon twice a day. They look like: mud, green gunk from the bottom of a pond, dirty water, and red rock sediments. Grin! I am sleeping better at night and take no naps during the day, I feel more energized. The herbs last for six weeks and we should all have significant improvement (even my mothers 30 year chronic cough should be gone).
April 2013 - This may not seem significant for many of you -- but I cut my hair shoulder length. First time I've had shorter hair since I was age 10!
April 2013 - I traveled to St. Louis for one-week Stephen Ministry Leadership Training as I will coordinate this new program at our church soon! It was a phenomenal week. I am officially a Stephen Ministry Leader volunteer on a long term basis now...
As I post this, Las Vegas is in my near future. Here are my 2012 Las Vegas posts, and I will add more soon!
Happy Retirement! And this time I mean it -- I intend to be fully engaged this year!