For those of you over 65 and fully retired, what major goals do you still want to achieve before you die? (engage, years)
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No bucket list, no goals. I basically got everything I wanted in life, work, money, love, family. What more is there? Want to keep my head straight and avoid pain if possible, but have no idea what the future will bring.
They are not "major" in the sense that I have always had them; I have none of those.
But I do have two "at some point between now and then" goals, which are:
(1) Get the final two exterior projects (a new driveway and replacement patio) done at some point during this year. The driveway really can't wait much longer because it's literally crumbling and is becoming unsafe to walk on. It was supposed to be done last year, but then Stuff Happened.....
(2) Finish the garden, or maybe it would be more accurate to say "Finish renovating it." Most of it was ripped out during the past two years (the former owners planted all the worst kind of invasives, a real horror show) and most but not all of the hiring-out heavy work has been done, which leaves me with 19 separate planting beds waiting for me to personally do something with them. Nine of the beds are completely empty, and the rest are less than 50% planted (several only have one single shrub in them.) So it's gonna take a while!
That is the kind of answer I'm looking for, even it might not actually be "major" to most people! Thanks for posting!
Of course, I think that all of us would like to stay as active and healthy as possible, but I am talking about something that makes you want to get up in the morning and actually finish, that you could then look back on with great satisfaction. So, your model railroad is a good example of that. For others, it might be finishing an elaborate quilt or going to Egypt or writing (or completing) a novel -- or maybe even something like holding your first grandchild or great-grandchild.
With luck, I have 20-25 years to go in my retirement, so any project that I've started already will long since be completed, so I have to be more broad and long ranging in my goals. Heaven forbid I start a project that takes me that long to complete!
I had accomplished many major goals before retirement: getting my degrees, establishing my career, getting certificates/ratings for my main hobbies of flying, scuba diving, coaching rowing, taking several big adventure trips, helping my daughter to become a vet and saving enough money to be comfortable in retirement.
I don’t set goals in retirement but have many plans and projects. There are many interesting trips which we want to take (exploring many parts of Western states by air, flying in Alaska, visiting more countries + maybe taking language immersion courses to learn or become more proficient in French, Spanish and Italian, visiting few more international vineyards).
It may take a while but I would like to recruit, train rowers and form a small, informal rowing club. We bought a double sculling boat to teach rowing and a fishing boat which can also be used as a coach launch. I have several prospective students and could hardly wait to train them when the weather gets nicer this year.
We have many home and landscape improvement projects in our new home.
We cut down dozen of invasive or nuisance trees (Russian olive/Grease wood) inside the fenced property area and replaced them with native trees (Serviceberry, Hawthorn, Dogwood, Ponderosa, Douglas Fir and Spruce). We restored and expanded the flower gardens. We added hundreds of spring flower bulbs & dozens of rose bushes. We also started a mini vineyard and a small orchard (have 12 trees and will expand to at least 20). I also plan to build few more raise garden beds to quadruple the size of the vegetable garden which I started last spring.
We created several walking/hiking trails all around the property and down to the river. We had just finished the 2nd outdoor stairs and are working on the 3rd one. It takes a lot of work moving dirt, rocks, removing stumps & roots but it is also a lot of fun. We will add stones of various shapes (native or interesting ones like the ones with fossils) to part of our walkways. Our vision is to make our yard to become more like an intimate nature park.
It was not our goal or plan to become a vintner but we ran into another vineyard owner at a grape growing seminar last year. He started a small winery and invited us to become their partners. We made our first batch of wine (55 gallons Syrah) last fall. I am having a lot of fun being an analytical chemist again after almost 40 years. Our Syrah has aged only 2 months but it has already tasted great. We will be making several more types of wines this year. We will also help our partner with planting few more grape varieties.
It is also not a formal goal but we have always wanted to learn more about flora, fauna, history and geology of our new state. We took several classes last year (birding by ears & master naturalist program). We also volunteer at the nearby National Wildlife Refuge and get to know several biologists. They have collected lots of data on birds, insects, plants and lake quality/algal bloom over the years. I am thinking of working with them to analyze the data which may lead to some research reports/papers.
We have also offered our web, photography and videography experience to several nature organizations which we have joined. I was invited to become members of several boards (historian, communication coordinator and member-at-large for special projects). There are several potential documentary film projects to do.
There are so many things to do and learn. It's hard for me to understand why some retirees are bored. I enjoyed my work life but also my retirement life. While the nature of many projects that we are doing is completely different from our work experience, we find ourselves apply our 'work' skills to many of them. I still think of myself as a scientist and an engineer and always a learner.
My daughters boy friend lives in New York care taking his parents and grandparents. Our daughter lives in Eugene, Oregon. They skype every night and are in a committed relationship. I would love to see my daughter move to New York so they can really be together.
I also live near a beautiful river full of nice fat rainbow trout. I would love to get back into fly fishing and catch some of those fish. Other than that I want my wife and I to gracefully grow older and enjoy our golden years as much as we've enjoyed the 45 years we've been together.
I have never been a goal-oriented person -- I've just followed various paths in life to see where they would take me. My being retired hasn't changed that.
I simply hope to enjoy myself while trying to make life a little easier for other people. If that qualifies as a goal, then that's my goal.
The important one for me is to get my eyes to work right. I'm sick of problems, pain, discomfort, lots of eye drops, eye doctor appointments, surgeries.
Another important one is to understand my kids and how they are living their lives.
Not to die to young( in the next five years) or live to long (90).
Be right with God and the people in my life. Stay in shape. Get back into skiing and biking.
Basically everything else has been done
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