Well here I am now with four weeks left before my retirement date. Ever wonder what people think about at this point in their life? Let me tell you what what's rattling around in my head. What led me to decide this move at this time... first, I'm actually tired of working. I don't want to follow a schedule any more, ie get up, stroll into the potty room, hang out there for a while, take a shower, get dressed, eat the same boxed cereal every morning (although I did change from milk to almond milk lite - unsweetened), and show up at a desk from 6:30am - 3:30pm Monday thru Friday for how many years? Eighteen? And before that, twenty years in the Navy. A determining factor in both retirement decisions - if I get a monthly check for the rest of my life, it's time to take the money and run. Unless you absolutely love the job, why the fuck would you want to stay? The only reason I see for someone to stay... you hosed up and didn't plan your finances right... then it sucks to be you.
So, with that much said, I obviously did not pick a career field in the last 45 years to wit I would love to do until I fell over dead. How many of us actually do? Look at everyone you know and ask yourself, any of them love their job? What they do actually where they planned to go for a career? Maybe a few, but the majority... no. What would I have done differently for a career path? Music... Rock n Roll baby! Late 60s early 70s... if you could play an instrument, start a band and you would be on your way. All you had to do is put a bunch of songs together and an ability to play for a few hours... your group had a gig every weekend for sure, and if you all were any good, the good gigs fell in your lap and the money started to come in. Why didn't I follow that dream... good question. I was brainwashed to believe this wasn't work, not a career field I could make a living at... raise a family, buy a house in the suburbs, save money and retire at some point. And now I'm 62 years old wondering what could have been if I had followed that dream? Wondering... probably would have been a rock star, overdosed at 25 and forgotten by now. Good thing I joined the Navy, right? Well, will never know now...
What else bounces around in the head of the retiree at this point. Why retire at 62 rather than 66 or later. I'm not interested in travel, yet I would guess some might look forward to doing so at this stage. Me... not interested in jumping on a full plane and vacationing in a foreign land. There's enough in this country I can pack up the car and drive somewhere. I grew up in Portland Oregon and never seen Crater Lake; I've never seen the Grand Canyon or Yosemite Park or the Alamo... never been to San Francisco, New Orleans, or Key West. I've never been rock climbing or skydiving or snorkeling and probably won't put those on my bucket list now because I really don't want to at this age. I don't care to ever go saltwater fishing again, don't care to come face-to-face with a bear again, don't care if I ever climb to the top of the Statue of Liberty again (twice was certainly enough).
So what do I want to do now with the time I have left? Well let me think... I would like to spend a good deal of my time with my kids. Not so sure how that will work out when the three of them are scattered around the country. How do I plan to deal with that dilemma... I'm picking one in an area I think I will enjoy living in and will visit the other two when I can. Hell, I'm retired now... I can come and go at my leisure, depending on their schedules. I want to go fishing, make that freshwater fishing on a lake or stream where I'm not elbow to elbow with the next fisherman. I want to putz around with a garden although don't care much for yard work, I might like growing stuff to eat. I want to write a book, maybe two. If I become successful at writing, maybe write a few more. I want to play with photography and put some videos together. I want to cook dinner and spend the evenings sitting outside watching the stars, chatting with my wife. And when the time comes, I pray God will take me quickly and not let me suffer with some long term issue. And one last favor I ask the Lord at this point in my life... He looks over everyone I know and may He grant you all the life you pray for. That's it... Carry on.
No comments:
Post a Comment