Best Parts of Retirement (weather, federal, adult, allowance)
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I had kids / teenagers. I understand their high energy needs to be moving, to be loud, the quest to have fun. My house was where 3/4 of the whole high school came to hang out. I treasure my memories of that stage of my life.
I am at a new stage: Retirement. My favorite part is living in a retirement community with no kids /teenagers. No loud music, no loud parties, no loud cars, no stupid vandalism. Ahhhhhh... the blissful quiet.
Love it.
Worst part for me is missing the anticipation of a three day holiday weekend or vacation time coming up. None of those any more
I have only been retired for 18 months. I still go around all day saying “happy Friday” to everyone I see on Fridays. Saturday still feels like Saturday, as does Sunday, except every weekend is a 3 day weekend now. Every Sunday night I think, “woo hoo, no work Monday!” How sweet it is.
I love the freedom to spend my time as I choose. I can stay up late and sleep in. I love being able to go on vacation for as long as I want. I see more of my friends and family.
Really hated my job after our wonderful company was acquired by a big German conglomerate. So I didn't miss one thing about it when I left. Other than that, mostly I enjoy sleeping in -- I never was a morning person to begin with. What I do miss is the big paychecks. Wish I had saved more and spent less.
Sitting here at 6:00 am reading CD. Occasionally I look out at the brightening skyline. Drinking my coffee and eating my cinnamon toast. How wonderful!
Best parts of retirement. Geez, so many to chose from.
It is Sunday night, and the dishes are done and it is time for bed. I slide between the sheets in blissful euphoria knowing that tomorrow is yet another "Saturday" with no structured demands on my time when I am mainly in control and can do whatever I want to do whenever I want to do it. Or nothign at all.
There is no alarm clock to set and none will scream at me in the morning. I think I lost 2 years off my life from the sudden terror of being torn awake from a sound sleep by a blaring siren from an alarm clock at 6:30 in the morning. I think being awakened by a blaring alarm clock is one of the most stressful shocks you can be subjected to in life, that doesn't cause permanent mental of physical damage. It always suprised me that alarm clocks weren't used as torture devices for terrorists at Guantanamo.
Commute traffic? Do you know how much stress relief I have had from this alone? Don't even get me started on parking.
How about the days I was running late. That is always fun, racing dangerously through the commute, only to feel the timid humilation of noticeably arriving when everyone else is busy working, and no good excuse for it.
Just the freedom.
Obviusly this isthe biggie. Freedom. For the first time since Kindergarten, I have no structured demand on my time. I mean, it has been 57 years since I have had no structured demand on my time, besides my mother putting me to bed. 57 freaking years. That is a top benefit. I keep praying I don't end up on Chemo or Dialysis, or any other regular treatment tying me down.
Heart attack for me, please! And my Doctor always wanted me to take Statins. Little did he know, if I can chose a way to go, heart attack is my strong preference. 4 minutes of sheer terror followed by blissful sleep & wake up in Heaven. Hopefully...
I can take a last minute trip on a Tuesday because I got a screaming last minute deal on hotels or airfare. I can start a muli-day project and not get stymied by having to go to work Monday and wait until next Saturday to pick it up again.
Another big benefit is you can shop, travel, and play off-peak when things are less crowded and possibly less expensive.
No boss looking over your shoulder.
I could go on for 20 pages, but let me leave you with this.
Getting sick.
Even the flu is SO much better when you are retired than working.
When I was working, I had to call in to my boss at work each and every single day to tell him "I am still sick, I can't come in today". Too many would ask if I was going to see a doctor. No, I have had the flu 4 days and it will probably run its course in a few more days, so why the hell do I need to go to a doctor? I never said this, but the aggravation of being asked was unbearable. As the days ticked off and the flu bug soldiered on, there was always a point during calling in sick when your boss felt you "should have been fine by now" and you could hear a hesitation in his voice, a little interruption when you know he is starting to wonder if you are faking illness to stretch out staying at home.
I detested having to call in each and every day to say I was still sick. How about I call you to tell you I am sick and you will know I am not sick when I show up again? I mean, that would work woudn't it? And then there is the inevitable requirement to go to the doctor, because you just can't keep calling in to your boss after 5 or 10 days with the flu and explain you are doing nothing to get better, and so you are FORCED to go to the doctor and get some medication you don't want to take.
Even the flu is better when you are retired.
I retired Jan 1 2020. One week after retiring -- I am talking just 5 days after -- I got a flu bug. I was sick for 25 straight days. It felt like a cross between a normal respiratory flu and pneumonia. It was weird. It might have been Covid, but maybe not. I will never know. But it was wonderful. 2 solid weeks in, it was my choice NOT to go to the doctor and just wait it out. It wasn't getting any worse, and I figured if it just stayed the way it was, it couldn't last forever. Multiple times during that illness, I just sat there on the sofa watching TV and luxuriating in being sick and NOT HAVING to call a boss and account for my justifiable absence.
After 25 days, I was finally healed. No calling a boss for 15 straight work days and then HAVING to go to a doctor just because I have a boss.
I never thought that even getting sick was better in retirement, but it is true. Everything is better.
Aging sucks, but retirement is just wonderful with no down side I can yet find. None. Every down side of retirement is just an extension of some down side I was already experiencing while I worked.
You summed it up beautifully and I had to laugh at how "wonderful" being sick for 25 days was I totally understand. Having the freedom to be sick on your own time and your own schedule is such a different experience.
I was thinking about taking a PT job just on Saturdays and 1/2 day Sunday, just because the place was local and needed someone, and I would get a few weird, but valuable, perks with it. I said NOPE!
The best part of retirement for me is never having to ASK if I can take time off. I just can't bear the thought of not being able to just go if I want to go somewhere, without having to worry if they can find someone to cover for me, or to feel like I'm letting someone down because I'm not doing something I agreed to do, whether it's a paid job or a regular volunteer gig. I will only volunteer for something if it doesn't obligate me to continue doing whatever it is indefinitely. It's got to be a "one off" deal, or a limited time engagement.
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I totally understand. Having the freedom to be sick on your own time and your own schedule is such a different experience.
