My husband and I got in to a discussion this weekend about retirement.
He has been retired for eight years now, however, two of our close
friends have been retired for less than a year. We were surprised to
learn...from two separate conversations...that neither one of them is
HAPPY with retirement!!
I must confess that when B was getting ready to retire, I was in full
freak out mode!! I had been on my own here at home since 1998...and I
had my own little routine...my own little business going. I spent six
months of the year at the cottage and he came up on weekends. It worked
for us. We were happy with our lives!!
Surprise, Surprise...retirement was such an easy transition for both of
us...our lives just melted together. Like fine wine. Or perfect
chocolate fondue. It STILL worked for us. We positively LOVE doing our
own thing. The first couple of years we traveled a LOT!! We traveled
all around the US. We had just bought the RV and were learning a whole
new way of life. The dogs love the RV even more than our house...or the
cottage. Knowing that we could not travel forever...we settled in to
every day life. No problem! We painted and we cleaned stuff out...we
did projects...woodworking, paper crafts, guitar playing...photography.
We are always working on something. Not a day goes by that we can't
find something to keep ourselves occupied.
There was never, EVER, a day when either one of us has been bored. BORED. That is like a totally foreign word in our vocabulary.
We are shocked to learn that two of our very close friends are bored.
Bored with retirement. A whole new concept for us. One of them is
single and I think it would be more difficult to adjust to retirement as
a single person...from the social aspect. I suggested he get a DOG!
(OK...I admit...I have been trying to talk him in to that for quite a
few years...I just thought that retirement would be the perfect
opportunity!) He doesn't want to be tied down. He has never been
married and has never had to "take care" of anything or anyone. So, I
guess it would be difficult to get a dog. But, it certainly would take
care of the boredom...wouldn't it???
Our other friend is married and both her and her husband retired on the
same day. Her husband has not had any issues with adjusting to
retirement and is quite busy tinkering around with "stuff". Little
projects here and there. Not so for her. She has run out of things to
clean. She likes some crafts and has apparently lost interest. I think
it is sad. VERY sad. It is sad to think that people's lives are
actually defined by their jobs??
The way B and I look at it...we are truly thankful and blessed to be
able to do what we want to do (within reason...LOL!!). We have a friend
that we meet for coffee. We actually met him at our local coffee shop.
He is 88 years old. And he is so full of LIFE and love and he just
radiates happiness! He is so very grateful to be ALIVE each day. It is
refreshing to spend time with people like him and we truly hope we will
be able to spend a lot more time with him.
So...the question I am asking is...if you ARE retired...did you ever get bored???
Both of these friends of ours are talking about going back to work.
This is not a financial decision. It is simply...needing more
"something" in their lives.
I have absolutely no idea WHAT.
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10 comments:
Well I can't answer the question since I'm still in the dreaming about being retired stage. I do think though that in order to not be "bored" you need to have some kind of hobby. There needs to be some kind of activity to occupy your time that you really enjoy doing.
my parents are retired since 2007.... and they both started to work again in 2009 :o) but only for some hours, it's more hobby than work :o)
My hubby and I still work but we have our 10 year plan to lead us to retirement. It is something we are looking forward to - getting a small camper, road tripping through the US and visiting all kinds of different places. In addition, it would give us more time to volunteer especially for international trips. Maybe your friend needs to look into something like that so he/she is not bored.
Nobody is bored at our house! However, we can see how some people may need the contact with others that working provides.
Keep Calm & Bark On!
Murphy & Stanley
Well, we aren't retired yet so maybe I shouldn't comment. But.. we both have interests and groups we belong to besides our jobs (I actually work from home part time and love that!). I think it's much more difficult for people who don't have outside interests. hobbies that they truly love, animals and/or grandkids to care for or dote over, causes they volunteer for, etc. And for some, they love their job and it's contribution to their own lives so much that giving it up is a real heartship. And if they are single, losing the contact with others on a regular basis can be very isolating.
Mom said she can't imagine being bored when she retires. Glad to hear you guys enjoy each other's company
Lily & Edward
I live for the day I can retire. Don't think it will be for a long time, unfortunately. Enjoy!
This is another thing that we have in common! I actually resigned my position to become a full time author in 2012 and haven't regretted it for a single second. My husband retired three years ago and we love every single day of it! We are never bored and with the blog, we stay busier than we did when we worked! LOL! I think a lot of it has to do with your relationship that you have with your spouse.
Our mom gotted BE TIRED of Working 9 years ago... and she has NEVER EVER regretted it... and is NEVER EVER BORED... Our Dad BeTired 3 years before MOM did. HE loves it TOO. BETiredment is WONDERFUL...
Mom has always been amazed at how many people can't keep themselves busy. She has always had jobs with lots of time off or at home and is never bored. People are always amazed she is never bored. It is really quite sad for people that don't have hobbies or interests and they have to rely on work for their "fun".
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