Retirement

I retired 5 years ago at 59. Retirement is better than I expected. The stress is over. I can go to a road race and not worry about mowing the lawn when I get home because I will be at work the next day. Don't have to commute in snow storms anymore. I have plenty of things to do during the day and right now I don't know where I found the time to go to work.

You have to make plans to retire..What to do withy your time...It happens to alot of people after they retire, they fall out of a routine, feel thery are not needed and die.

You got to meet the challenge and that's what I aim to do..Volunteer coach...find other hobbies..The most sad thing is if you have to go back to work to fill your time...

But then, I have 5 more years to find those other hobbies.

Work is overrated. Your Dad needs to find things to do, whether it's a hobby, fixing things, travelling, or helping others less fortunate. There is plenty to do in this world, with much less stress than the daily pressures of work.

Your dad needs to run and find running friends to run with. If not then some other social activity, maybe a health club. He could also get a part-time job. I don't think it's the work he's missing but interacting with others. I have about 13 to 15 years to go but there's a great running community where I live and a park that many other runners gravitate to. I will not miss the 1 hour commute or the many morons at work. I will love getting up when I want, doing what I want, when I want.

Bump, will comment on this later.

Over three years ago I was obliged to take early retirement. The thing which is apparent is to find a routine to map out one's day. Obviously I couldn't be running 7 - 8 hr. per day.:) I have taken the opportunity to work at a few contract jobs, etc. been to night school to upgrade.

All I can say to those who are having some difficulty is to find things which are of interest. Volunteer?

I retired two years ago at 62. It has been the best 2 years of my life. I stay busy by 1. running road races 2. Bicycle riding 3. Golf once a week 4. play trombone in 2 bands 5. Track & Field, Cross Country officiating 6. Volunteering at State Museum once a week 7. Spending more time with my wife 8.Travelling

All this MINUS the worries/pressures of my former Business career.

So the secret is to have things you want to do after you retire, then DO THEM. First thing I did was ride my bicycle from Pacific Ocean at San Diego to Atlantic Ocean at Jacksonville.

Is your Dad rich?

It all comes down to how well you are able to enjoy life and enjoy yourself. Many people have a very hard time with this. Sadly.

I have been counting down for a long time and I still have 3 years to go.

Funny thing is, I had always dreamed of continuting this 30 year obsession with distance running, but I am making my second trip to a bone and joint clinic on Thursday.

There is a possibility that I will make retirement, to only find that I cannot train the way I used to when i worked!

It's weird, the way it works out.

You guys who have retired and can still train and obsess about this great sport..I envy you.

I am wondering now....

your dad needs to get some counseling regarding 'handling retirement' asap....people in his situation often-times die within 5 years of retirement.

der wrote:

I have been counting down for a long time and I still have 3 years to go.

Funny thing is, I had always dreamed of continuting this 30 year obsession with distance running, but I am making my second trip to a bone and joint clinic on Thursday.

There is a possibility that I will make retirement, to only find that I cannot train the way I used to when i worked!

It's weird, the way it works out.

You guys who have retired and can still train and obsess about this great sport..I envy you.

I am wondering now....

I am 56 and had to give up running at 50 due to bad knees and lack of cartidge. Now i almost feel like I was never a runner instead of the 100 mpw guy I was in my 20s.

There are way too many things in life, especially in the U.S., to allow too much free time. I'm working from home now and, while not retirement obviously, I have a lot more free time. I can't get enough of it, as I'm learning a foreign language and have become an amateur cage fighter (2nd fight coming soon). Okay, so cage fighting isn't feasible for a retiree. Take up the training for it anyway. Great fitness. How about toastmasters, overseas travel, joining a tennis league...??? How about becoming a board member for a business (i.e. credit union)?? Far as I'm concerned, the key in life is what a person does outside the job/status quo. I'll be "darned" if I go to my grave, known as some analyst. The career's critical, but only because my arm's twisted. I live for everything else and cuss at the career.

Will I be in bad retirement shape if I take chances and explore during my 20s and early 30s? For some reason it just makes more sense to me to live while I'm young.

tasetkjlas wrote:

Will I be in bad retirement shape if I take chances and explore during my 20s and early 30s? For some reason it just makes more sense to me to live while I'm young.

yes, follow your heart. youth is wasted on the young. that means that all of those things you put off til retirement, you should have done while you were young and able. my dad longed for retirement and died within 13 months of his retirement party, having put off alot of things 'for retirement' that he sadly never got to do.

It amazes me how we define ourselves by work/career. Obituaries are mostly career-path thingies.

NOTHING is so over-rated. I'm so very good at doing nothing. I love it.

Many people treat retirement as a kind of be-all end-all, and if they never enjoyed "nothing" during their careers, they'll hate retirement too.

Ooops. I meant to say "NOTHING is so under-rated."

Anyway, I can't "retire":

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/8446/april2008062vn0.jpg

:)

If you dad is bored with retirement, then he should find a job and go back to work. I retired in the later 80\'s, did hobbies for 3 years, then went back to work. Then 9-11 hit, I retired a few months later, did more hobbies for 6 years, got tired of it, and went back to work. If you went to school like I did for 6 years, then guess what, you must have liked what you studied or else you would not have passed. So I\'m back to work in the same general field I studied for so long. When I was retired, both times, I worked longer hours at my hobbies than when I had a traditional job. Keep busy and enjoy your retirement.