A Retirement Blog by Caree Risover

I can't deny that I do have moments of panic when I consider the enormity of the decision we have made to retire. Last night, however, I had the strangest dream, suggesting that I may have a generalised anxiety issue. In my dream, our house was repossessed because we had failed to meet the mortgage instalments! Now, we're not that stupid and, as we don't actually have a mortgage anymore, I can't really be worrying about paying one off. Maybe I need a dream specialist (I assume there are such people) to explain it. On the other hand I also dreamt that I had beaten Roger Federer in a tennis match. Quite an achievement, especially as I haven't played tennis for almost 30 years following a serious leg injury .

Some ten years ago,  Mister E and I bought a week's timeshare at a lodge on the Langdale Estate in the Lake District, overlooking the Langdale Beck. We enjoy our time there so much that a couple of years ago we decided to buy another week in January, determining that it would be a wonderful way to wind down from the after effects of Christmas  and the New Year, especially when we are retired. Trouble is we are not yet retired and with three trips away in as many months, some intense hours have had to be worked to get here. Still at least I'm not an accountant because as the deadline for filing tax returns approaches, those in the office next door have certainly been working overtime too, and with another week to go are presumably still grinding away. The Managing Director came to see me the day before I left. He wanted to know if I would be prepared to work for longer. Unfortunately, I am one of those people who always finds it hard to say no. However, and t...

Flicking through a new monthly supplement delivered with our copy of the Guardian on Saturday and called  Do Something , I was riveted by the Manifesto. "Routine is both a blessing and a curse," it read before going on to describe how "Too much routine isn't merely boring- it contributes to the sense of the years whizzing by, because so little takes place that's new." Gosh that had me sitting up in my chair. Is that the explanation for the last twenty years of my life; gone in the blink of an eyelid? All the time, there was me thinking it was because life was so busy, busy, busy but in reality it had been stolen by the routine and monotony of daily living! Interesting too, because some of what I have been reading about retirement (usually the chapter I skip over) recommends the need for routine. Perhaps the reality is far more exciting. I hope so, because my original plan for daily living post retirement is now in the process of being re-designe...

I found myself with an empty moment at the same time as I had a calculator in my hand this morning. I decided to compute how many more days I would actually work if I retire at the end of June. Taking into account both my holiday entitlement and the fact that I now work only 4 days a week, it equates to just 90 days. Whether I can actually complete the case files I have been hired to work on or not within that time is another issue. However, I have a feeling that it will be so much more pleasurable to retire as the days reach their longest and we hopefully have a spell of warm sunny days to enjoy. 30th June is therefore going to be my goal. 

Today I have eschewed the resolutions of former years. No longer will I vow to lose weight, leave work on time or go to the gym regularly. Instead I have made four resolutions that I am proud of and determined to stand by. The first, of course, is to retire. Yes I promise that I am going to do this in 2014. The second, with a view to ensuring that the first happens, is not to accept any new clients this year. Thirdly (and I am rather proud of this one) I have resolved to promote health and happiness – not just of myself but for others also. Finally, and yes this is something I vow to do every year, I am going to declutter. True to my word I have jettisoned the footbeds from my ski boots today; after 10 years they were smelling badly, so it wasn’t hard. On the theme of retiring though, I do want to declutter at work (mentally and physically) as well as undertaking the same at home in readiness for and in the early stages of my new life. 

The four of us went away for Christmas making an opportunity for some family bonding whilst avoiding the excesses of the Yuletide festivities at home. We escaped to the French Alps with its guarantee of snow at Christmas and skiing. There was a time when Mister E and I used to dream about spending winters in retirement in a chalet in a mega ski resort. Trouble is they were fantasies of two much younger people. We had a superb trip but the reality is that we can’t ski like we used to; we now feel the pain despite covering less distance. We don’t sleep well at altitude and have developed an aversion to going out in bad weather. We now trail along behind our younger family members whereas once we led the pack or, when they were very young, even skied with them between our knees. Our muscles were stiff in the morning and I still can’t bend without aching. Reality has crept in. Amongst the oldest people on the piste, skiing can no longer be the high priority for retirement that...

The week before Christmas is always stressful as we juggle lunch hours with Christmas shopping; queue in the Post Office to send cards and parcels; worry about the food shopping and preparations as well as a myriad of other tasks, all whilst going about our ordinary business. It is of course made worse by the demands of work with deadlines to meet and those demanding them being all the more unreasonable in the knowledge that the world of business and commerce will virtually close for almost two weeks.  Mister E has not escaped this year's torture and as a result suggested that we might like to consider planning a luxurious getaway for Christmas next year, in order to celebrate our retirement. Ever the pragmatist I pointed out first of all that it was probably the busiest time of the whole year to travel and that maybe somewhere out of season before or after may suit us better. Besides I added, I thought it might be rather good to do Christmas properly for the first time in our...