It has been a year since I retired from my full-time career, and I think, after some hit-and-miss, that I’ve discovered a pace that fits well with my time and energy at the moment. How lucky am I to be able to say that? I realize the adjustment is far from easy for some people. I get notes from people who tell me they’re enjoying my writing and my efforts to connect people on my website, but that they haven’t found anything that comes anywhere near to engaging them. They miss everything about their careers – the people, the sense of belonging, the regular paycheque, the way their work defined who they are.
I feel sad when I hear this, because no one deserves to feel lost or alone or worried. I also feel slightly baffled because I’m not sure why I haven’t felt any of this. I am keeping busy with my retirement writing and a part-time communications job, and that’s been more than enough to fill the need to belong to a team. And I’m a list person, so before I even retired I made a list of the gifts my career brought to me. It brought the need for new clothes every once in awhile, for instance, which I still like to have periodically even though they no longer need to be professional clothes. So on the occasion I feel out of sorts, I check my list and see if there’s anything screaming at me to be addressed. And then I tend it as best I can. Enjoy having new clothes periodically? Shop! That one’s easy.
I miss the people, but when this stirs up feelings of isolation I make time to visit other friends who are also retired. It seems like a double-treat to visit during regular work hours! There has been a way around most trepidations for me, which is why I feel lucky.
The regular paycheque thing has been the most pressing comfort to step away from. How else am I supposed to shop for new clothes without it? Seriously, though, life is expensive and prices for everything went up the moment I retired. It made me nervous and I took on too much work, as I’ve written about before. I think I’ve reined in some of that anxiety and, in turn, pulled back on some work projects.
I do find that I’m still able and interested to take on quite a bit, though. The secret for me is slow mornings. If I can leisurely drink my coffee for a few hours instead of rushing out the door, I can do pretty much anything for the rest of the day. Especially because I have kept a calm and restful evening routine for years, which stockpiles energy for the next day.
I had thought that the stages of retirement that people talk about (go-go, slow-go, no-go) each took place over a number of years. I’m finding that they unfold each day for me, just in a different order: slow-go, go-go, no-go!
Visit Sandy’s website at www.LifeInRetirement.ca