Exactly six months ago, I retired… (part 4)
8/16/24
Exactly six months ago, I retired… and if I have any regrets about retiring, it would only be that I didn’t adequately prepare for the non-financial part (the ‘softer side’ of retirement as some experts refer to it) as well as we did for the financial part. Now, don’t get me wrong – I don’t regret retiring at all (it would be silly to say that I do) and I really don’t even have a huge regret about the lack of prep for the ‘softer side’ either (since I still have time to figure it all out), but I should have been more ready.
It’s not like I wasn’t aware of the need for this preparation – I‘ve read many articles / blogs / books and listened to several discussions with experts on the topic (even advice from the financial planning team we’ve been working with). But, I had spent the last nine years of my career working from home, so I expected the transition for me would be easier than for others. It would essentially be the same as during my working years except that I would need to fill my time at home in other ways – with things I actually like – and there were lots of things I like. I wasn’t going to be losing the social aspect of work that most other retirees lose, since I wasn’t in an office setting or traveling to customers on any kind of frequent basis. I wasn’t concerned about losing my identify or sense of self by giving up a job I had done for so long, basically because I didn’t really identify myself by my job anyway – it was a job I did because it was necessary to have a job and one that provided for me (for us) – nothing more. Nonetheless, I have found myself wanting to have something meaningful to do – a purpose – and not just hobbies (which are fine and something I do want and need).
I do manage to fill my time and most days go more quickly than I would expect, but the majority of the time (my alone time during the normal workweek) is filled with household chores or running errands. These are necessary items that occupy time but are not fulfilling. I discounted how important this would be to me in retirement. I didn’t feel this way immediately – especially since a fair amount of the 6 months in retirement so far has included several vacations with the wife, visits to family in other states (which had always been part of my retirement plan), and an unexpected relocation of my son several states away due to a new job opportunity. But, as the dust has settled – the realization that I don’t have a purpose or a plan to identify one, has crept in. I’ve become aware of this a couple times recently when I expected to be confronted by others hearing of my retirement for the first time – with the question of why I retired early or what I plan to do with my time having retired at such an early age. I guess I expected they would assume that I had a plan. The reality is that I haven’t actually been so directly confronted about it yet, but my expectation of others’ expectations of me has still led me to this point.
I’ve never been one to write anything, to journal about my day, or necessarily to verbally express my inner thoughts (maybe not even to my wife other than on somewhat rare occasions). But, faced with an opportunity to really determine what the rest of my life will consist of – at least to the extent it will be within my control – I think it would be best to give it proper consideration. Capturing my thoughts in this blog (that I’ve delayed starting for six months) and being more open about what’s going on in my noggin is one way to start. So, here goes nothing…
next blog entry…
[8/16/24] Exactly six months ago, I retired… (part 5)
previous blog entry…
[8/16/24] Exactly six months ago, I retired… (part 3)
RetiredInIndiana 