Retirement

[COSteve]

I just realized that today is the 17th anniversary of my retirement; Sept. 14, 2007. It's been a great ride and I've treated like a new career as 'a gentleman at leisure'. We'd always dreamed of traveling the world so the wife and I have visited some 82 countries since I retired. In fact, my son and I just came back from a 'guy's trip', Sept. 11th, after almost 2 weeks traveling up and down Japan from Hiroshima to Oirase Gorge, we included Osaka, Kyoto, Tokyo and Sendai in our trek too. Beautiful country and terrific food!!

[2ndovc]

Sounds like a great trip. When my dad retired he and I took a trip to England and also celebrate his Birthday. It was January and while we had a great time, I've never been so cold in my life. That damp British environment penetrates all the way to your bones.
No wonder there was a pub every fifteen yards. People just trying to stay warm and sucking down those hot toddies!

jb

[marlinman93]

Thanksgiving weekend will be 14 years for me, and the most enjoyable years of my life! I don't travel much, and never outside the US, but I'm always busy and mostly having fun. Once in awhile my wife gives me a project to do, but they're never more than a few days work, so otherwise I stick to stuff that makes me happy.

[Ysabel Kid]

A few more years for me... and I can't wait!

Congrats!!!

[Griff]

I had plans to retire 24 years ago... That plan didn't quite last 4 years... None of the intervening plans have worked according to plan either... The next plan is to run for Congress... Retire from there after on term, surely I couldn't screw things up any worse than the current inhabitants!

[COSteve]

Oh, I forgot to add that we've also been to 49 of the 50 states just since I took on my 'gentleman at leisure' career. Montana, the only state we've not been to in the last 17 years we'd been to with the kids a few times so we've not got around to it during this 'career'. I guess you could say I've got wanderlust as there's always the pull of what's over the next hill.

I also love taking pictures of all the places we've been and after culling out, I've narrowed down my picture collection to only 39,826 pictures including the 647 I've got from our recent Japan trip. Taking a picture seems to fix the image with the event solidly in my mind so I can recapture the feeling of the places looking at the pictures.

Travel is what I worked my whole life to do when I quit 'working for da man' so I'm a lucky so and so, that's for sure. We've got our health (both mentally and physically) as well as a great family and friends. What more could I ask for?

[AJMD429]

.
My path has been the 'work until you cannot anymore' in part due to choice and part due to Obamacare and the aftermath that still impacts the whole 'healthcare' system. I do hope to 'cut down my hours' but that requires finding someone of similar mindset to ease in to the practice I have and start taking it over for their lifetime career. Unfortunately these days, few people in primary care look at it as a lifetime thing - they intend to work 'clinics' here and there, with no continuity, and then retire, because such environments do have the conventional 'pensions' and 'benefits' that most employees have. For the self-employed, it is a different world, and the young people these days, at least the ones from 'academia', are mostly frightened sheep too scared to step out from the apron-strings of the hospital they are employed/controlled by. We will see, but hopefully someday soon I'll stumble on the exception, and can reduce my hours...!

Most of my classmates who chose more sensible occupations, in the building trades, outdoor work, welders, or whatever, are retired now though, and fun to hang around when I do get a break.

I don't mind 'not retiring', but I have some friends and some patients who are financially unable to retire, BUT HATE THEIR JOBS. That has to really suck. Or the ones who hate their job, work their butts off waiting to retire, then six months after retiring have a stroke or whatever. If you are young and have the choice, and decide to choose a path that may preclude retirement, that's ok - AS LONG AS YOU ENJOY YOUR JOB. Thankfully, I enjoy mine, other than the 'insurance' part, and we dumped insurance a couple years ago. All doctors should do that. It would be better for them, and for their patients. Healthcare was MORE affordable before insurance, and the reason isn't that technology is more advanced - I had a patient facing a "$50,000 to $75,000" estimate for a hernia repair cost (surgery, hospital/recovery, anesthesia) at a hospital that 'accepts his insurance' - and he would pay ten percent - sounds good - but he found a hospital that doesn't accept ANY insurance, and the TOTAL of all three fees was $4,500 - and I didn't accidentally leave off a zero. So he paid ALL the cost for less than the 10% he'd have been responsible for using his insurance (which he probably pays a $250/month 'deduction' for, plus loses about $1,700 in monthly pay his employer sends to Anthem that he never even sees listed on his pay stub).

My main thing I gripe about to my retired friends is that they NEED TO STAY INVOLVED - ESPECIALLY WITH KIDS - too many of their kids are 'ok' but their grandkids are a MESS. The parent generation seems too busy 'surviving' to instill decent values or perspective in the kids, and it is up to us OLD GUYS to do that. Don't just buy them stuff - take them fishing, work on a car with them, take them hunting, show them how to reload. AND embed some history and politics in it - - - if you don't, OTHERS WILL - - - and you know the kind of drivel their teachers will force on them, with their DEI and 'common sense gun control' and so on.

[JimT]

I "retired" in 2010 when I was 64 and moved to Mozambique where I was very busy for the next 6 years. It was a fun and exciting time. When I was 70 my wife passed away and I moved back to the US where I now live. I am busy every day with my grandsons and with taking care of the property as well as reloading, shooting and enjoying life. I am heading toward 79 and still "working" and find it enjoyable, mostly doing what I wish to do.

[COSteve]

Not to imply I don't still work around the house because the wife has many 'honey dos' to keep me busy. We have a routine when we work the chores that we only work from 8 am to 1 pm and then enjoy the rest of the day. I'm in charge of the finances, vacuuming the house, cleaning the dishes, doing the wash, all the yard work, keeping the garage clean, cleaning the cars and servicing them as well as errand running.

By mutual agreement, she does the cooking so she doesn't have to eat anything I would make.

[jeepnik]

I hadn’t planned to retire. I really enjoyed my work. I was on the verge of cutting my work week back to two or three day a week.

Then covid hit. Since I was in several “high risk” categories I just decided God was giving me a sign not even someone as clueless as myself could miss.

It’s the fourth best decision of my life. Maybe fifth. The first three were marrying my wife, having kid #1 and kid#2.

Enlisting and retiring are about tied for fourth.

[stretch]

3 more years of, "day prison" and I'm out!

I have enough "work to do to keep me busy for several more lifetimes.

And all those books to read and music to listen to.

I'll not be bored!

-Stretch

[Ysabel Kid]

3 more years of, "day prison" and I'm out!

I have enough "work to do to keep me busy for several more lifetimes.

And all those books to read and music to listen to.

I'll not be bored!

-Stretch

Me neither. But I want to give it a good stab!

[jeepnik]

Forget it fellas! I've tried to get bored and failed miserably.

[Steve in MO]

I retired from the Army in 2009, and kept working until last year. My wife went back to school and is now the one working full time, and I'm the one doing stuff around the house. We raise our grandchildren, so every day is a new adventure.