Practicing Retirement

What is a workaholic supposed to do when retirement looms ahead them?

This question has plagued me for the past year, when my early retirement date came and went.

Many find it very difficult to understand my none retirement, my reluctance to walk away from an 8:30 to 4:30 job into the amazing world of, do what you want when you want!

And here lays the horror of retirement for a workaholic, what do you do with all that time?  Sitting around knitting sweater after sweater does not sound like fun and while knitting is both relaxing and enjoyable life is fuller, holds more meaning now.

There is purpose and meaning in a career, order and routine, engagement with new ideas, people and learning.

These are things that have brought meaning to much of life for the past 30 years.

Yes, family, friends, community and church are also part of what bring meaning to life however we are not expected to enjoy saying good bye to these when we turn 55, 60 or 65.

Retirement, however is not something that can be put off forever, eventually aging will overcome ability and the value we offer our employers diminishes at which point we are asked to leave.

Forced retirement is not what is desired either.

Retirement counselors all ask the same questions, what new new goals do you have, what new challenges are you ready to tackle?

Here is the second horror of retirement, I don’t know what I want to do! 

I do not have a bucket list!

When I shared my predicament with a wise woman she laughed, “Practice retiring.”

Practice retiring?

I was challenged to look around my community, find classes, groups, social clubs and explore them to determine if they will bring new ideas, people and learning into my life.

So it was that I found myself in a watercolor class today at our local library and who knows maybe I might become an artist.

Grandma Snyder

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