Reflections on a Calendar Month of Retirement

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Amazingly I have now been retired for a whole month, yet it feels so long that I can hardly remember what it's like to go to work every day. Don't get me wrong, I really rather enjoyed my professional career but when  it began to feel repetitive and the stress outweighed the intellectual reward, I knew it was time for a change.

The last month has been a delight and I am not saying that simply for the sake of this blog. I'm assuming it feels longer than a month because not only has every day been different but I am enjoying retirement so much. The warnings about boredom, isolation and lack of self-worth have so far failed to materialise. Either I am doing something right or else they'll surface later on.

Of course as someone who has always thrived on competition, it's been a pleasure to find so much to challenge me on a day to day basis.

Perhaps a month is too early to judge. Retirement is, however, a special and important time of life. It is probably best compared to rediscovering the freedom of my late teenage years but without exams to worry about and with sufficient wisdom acquired over the years to appreciate it.

Inevitably it still sometimes feels like I am on a long holiday. Whilst I'm guessing that might go with time, I'm in no haste to see it disappear as rather than taking retirement for granted, it, of course, is making me appreciate the present even more. 


Comments

Richard said…
Great to hear that you are enjoying your retirement and have not fallen prey to any of the commonly quoted pitfalls. It sounds like you are doing something right.
Let us know how you are doing in another few months time.
As someone who is thinking about retirement in the next couple of years I am interested in hearing how people deal with it.
24 July 2014 at 10:06
Caree Risover said…
Thanks for your comment, Richard. As you will have gathered this is all new for me and,of course, I know that I am still in the honeymoon period!
25 July 2014 at 21:38
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