A Retirement Blog by Caree Risover

  There’s a meme circulating on the internet at the moment to the effect that for the first time ever a British woman finally went out, leaving her cardigan at home. Today, amidst all this glorious sunshine and stifling heat, I did likewise! There are some things that never change though: I still had an umbrella in my bag! Image by  emmabeyjd  from  Pixabay

    On 18th June I reached my 11th anniversary of retirement. In previous years I've always tried to post a reflective blog entry, checking in on where exactly I am on this long journey of exploration. This year, it simply was not possible. Retirement has always presented itself to me in staged phases. They have not always been  immediately  recognisable  but with the benefit of hindsight I know that I have moved from the honeymoon period of  frenetic, hamster-wheeling energy to something slower and more appreciative. I've tried to embrace new experiences and freedom, avoid stress and make the most of every option, creating opportunities for travel, simplification, well-being, creativity  and joy. There have been downtimes but growing resilience has always pulled me through and I've learnt to embrace the quiet interludes as well as the busy ones. A year ago, I was sharing little pearls of wisdom as I'd reached what seemed to be a contented phase of re...