Recently, a friend shared that she was astounded by her friend’s 50th birthday choice: a secret holiday. He took himself away from his family (wife and kids) for a 2 week holiday at a secret location that he didn’t share with, or talk to anyone about, before or after he went.* He wanted to travel… Continue reading The Secret Holiday
Category: Emotional journey
A Checklist Of Retirement Experiences
Note: This article was first published 2023/03/24. Revised. Retirement websites often distill life after retiring to a list of things that you can check off one-by-one.* From a drained, working person’s perspective, it’s an enticing list of wonderful possibilities. I’ve found that the lists vastly over-simplify life after retiring. They make it look like an… Continue reading A Checklist Of Retirement Experiences
Goodbye Miss
Transforming from a teacher into something new is not as simple as saying goodbye to your last class of students, and heading off into the sunset of Summer vacation. Perhaps not surprisingly, nothing at all happens to you over your first summer after retiring. Nothing. It feels like every summer you’ve ever experienced in your… Continue reading Goodbye Miss
The On-Call Retiree
A person retired, is a person on-call. You have the flexibility to do things when you want to, and to be available when others are working. As a result, the world has a way of filling your time without you making a conscience choice. The Obligations Creep In I’ve seen this happen. At first you… Continue reading The On-Call Retiree
Why Do I Need Purpose?
Find something that you can do slow, that you can do forever and still love it, that still gives you meaning.” – Christina Koch, Artemis II astronaut Why do I need purpose after I retire? Can’t I spend the rest of my days enjoying my life – just living it? What’s wrong with that? I… Continue reading Why Do I Need Purpose?
Joys Of Today
Note: This article was originally posted in the first year after I retired 2023/02/16. I’m trying to stay true to the perspective that this blog is build on. What happens when you retire? How does it feel? What are the challenges and what are the rewards? It’s natural for me to barrel ahead into the… Continue reading Joys Of Today
Brain Foggy November
Lately, the fog seems to roll in mid-afternoon and stay for the rest of the day. My will to focus and plan clouds over, and I settle for doing repetitive tasks that take little concentration. I want to expand my window of energy, or at least, re-charge it when it flags. I have things to… Continue reading Brain Foggy November
Personal Long Range Plans/Vision Board
At the beginning of 2025, I created a Personal Long Range Plan for the year. Some might call it a Vision Board. It was my first time making one. When I messed about with collage and paints to create it during the quiet days before New Years’, I didn’t realize how helpful it would be.… Continue reading Personal Long Range Plans/Vision Board
Productivity Reframe
Doing something useful with my time is something I value. It feels good to be productive. There’s a feeling of satisfaction when I get to the end of the day and look back at projects completed. My time wasn’t wasted. It’s my personal values and beliefs that determine what’s useful and whether I’ve spent my… Continue reading Productivity Reframe
How are you enjoying retirement?
This post was originally published 2023/01/12 when I first began writing about what’s next after retiring in midlife. How are you enjoying retirement? It’s a frequently asked question from my still-working colleagues and friends as they greet me. That is a loaded question. They mean well, I know. They probably really wish that they were… Continue reading How are you enjoying retirement?
Retired, And Now What? 