Bridges Loc: Memphis, Charleston SC, now Nazareth PA

I retired from my full-time job (about 3 months earlier than planned due to Covid), and have kept quite busy. I've been in Charleston, SC a couple of times and in Virginia once, laid laminate flooring in the family room and put down baseboard molding with quarter round, put crown molding around the room and spent four days cleaning some things out of the garage (need to do that for about 40 more days!). Shopped and bought a new car for my wife and returned to my part-time job two days a week. Obviously I've kept myself busy but I can't get over the feeling I'm on an extended vacation and will return to work in the near future. I don't want to or plan to do more than work part-time from now on, but it is a strange feeling (for me anyway), that there will not be an end to this extended time off!

pmsc70d Loc: Post Falls, Idaho

I retired two years ago, and felt the same way for a while myself. Now I just wonder how I managed to put up with a job for 41 years, and enjoy every day.

Curmudgeon Loc: SE Arizona

My feeling about retirement is that it is simply that no one has first call on my time. I retired at 53 and un-retired several times after that I'm 77 now. I un-retired once for as long as 18 months retired when they thought they owned me. There is nothing wrong with treating it like an extended vacation but my feeling is that you retired too soon.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

I really understand. I wake up every day and make a list of things that I’ve been putting off (sometimes for years) that I will do that day. Today, I rebuilt the carburetors on both my and my son’s Honda engined power washer (which has been siting in my garage for 9 months waiting for my attention). Tomorrow, I’m going to “supervise” him building a deck. The problem is that I’m approaching the bottom of the list where the only thing left is painting (which I really detest). I like being able to get up when I like without a clock, but it is hard to adapt.

TomC. Loc: Bel Air, MD

I always said that I would retire in 2012 and I did. Best thing ever. The house is paid for, no car debt, no credit card debt, free and clear on everything. I pay off the one credit card every month plus I get 1.5% cash back on every purchase I make. Over the last few years, I've accumulated almost $2000 in free money.
I enjoyed many aspects of my job as a Mechanical Designer. Got involved in many fascinating projects over the years working for the steel industry. In later years, I worked in the food service industry designing different kinds of cooking equipment mostly Commercial Convection Ovens. I see my ovens on TV cooking shows and in restaurants many times.
I have some good investments and a fair amount in savings.
Soon after retiring, I realized that something was missing from my everyday life. I realized, eventually, that I needed to be creative. In my work life, I depended on my creativity to come up with different designs for different things. When I think back, I realized what a heavy dependence I had on being creative and it helped me in my work considerably. I needed something where I could use that creativity in photography. So, photography became my hobby. I thoroughly enjoy it and I can be creative with it also. I studied everything I could get a hold of about photography and I thoroughly enjoyed myself with it.
As you get accustomed to your new life, things tend to work themselves out and before you know it, you'll be happily involved in something and you'll be on your merry way.
It's good that you keep busy and continue to enjoy yourself. Most people I know in my age bracket say it's best to stay busy and active in some way. That seems to be the secret.
I wish you the best of luck in your new endeavors.

cincykid

I retired 6.5 years ago after working nearly 51 years at jobs as varied as sp/4 Army cinematographer, TV cameraman & director, SVP at a bank and bank examiner. Enjoyed them all but after all the years I just wanted to do what I wanted to do when I wanted to do it. Health has been good and the extra years added to savings. Now we can travel & I can take all the pics I like.

My Dad was a funeral director for 62 years. After he died I found the following poem laminated in his wallet. He didn't write it but it sure made me smile. Hope it does for you too.

When I was young, my slippers were red.
I could kick my heels up over my head.

When I grew older, my slippers were blue,
but I could still dance the whole night through.

Now I am old. My slippers are black.
I walk to the corner and puff my way back.

How do I know my youth has been spent?
Cause my & get-up-and-go; got up and went!

But in spite of all that, I able to grin
when I think of where my get-up-and-go has been!
I get up each mornin; and dust off my wits;
pick up the paper and read the obits. If my name is missin I know I aint dead, so I eat a good breakfast and go back to bed.

LeeinNC Loc: Morganton, NC

Think I'll put that in my wallet.

BigDaddy Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

I retired around 14 years ago after about 50 years of work. After 14 years, I still love Fridays because the weekend follows it. Makes no sense, because the best thing about retirement is it's always Saturday, but the glow of Fridays hasn't disappeared.

fourlocks Loc: Londonderry, NH

When people asked me how retirement's going for me, I would respond "retirement's not easy; it requires a good deal of self motivation." It's probably a function of my Type A personality but I would define a good day as one in which I accomplished some useful tasks and achieved worthwhile results. Working a job automatically fulfilled those requirements because it paid the bills and helped raise a family so it was automatically motivating for me.

I could never look at retirement as a "well deserved rest" and I can sit and read a book or watch a TV for only so long before I feel restless and need "something to do." However, when you're retired, every day is a weekend so it's very easy to put off a task or project until tomorrow. Inactivity is literally a life threatening condition at a senior's age so I put a lot of effort into "keeping busy" maintaining a list of tasks and projects needing my attention. And then forcing myself to do them!

Don W-37 Loc: Bangkok, Thailand

I retired for the second time in 2002 at age 65. (23 years US Navy, then 20+ telecom) After 3 years, I got bored and started to teach English. Will be 15 years of that next month. Thinking about retiring again...just concerned that I might get bored. We'll see...
Cheers, Don

olemikey Loc: 6 mile creek, Spacecoast Florida

You sound like you will have no problems adjusting - enjoy your retirement (I retired in 2010, and no regrets)....so many never even make it to retirement, or they wait till they are sick......enjoy and stay active: my 101 year old neighbor say's that is the secret (staying active), saw her hanging up her laundry yesterday, feeding the birds, and other light yard stuff, what a trooper!!!!

steve Loc: Iowa

Yes Bigdaddy. agree. amen

St.Mary's

I rejected the Protestant ethic when it first came out.

rps Loc: Muskoka Ontario Canada

I've been retired for 21 years and haven't been bored for a minute...always lots of home projects and repairs...active in Probus club, opera guild and some freelance broadcasting. We have travelled (6 of the 7 continents). I read a lot and enjoy my on again/off again hobby of photography which I've been doing since age 13. (I'm now 86. that number bothers me when I see it in print.)

finnmap Loc: N Illinois

This is a Pete Seeger song - don't know if he wrote it or not.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdNQt4a6f7g