I got this question from a fellow in my Navion Yahoo group. He was wanting to hear opinions on this topic as he considers his own path. Here is my response:
Hi, JD!
I am writing from the other side. I mean.. I wish that I'd been able to convince my dear husband to retire and hit the road with me full-time sooner. Now, don't get me wrong; we had lots of travel time together. Michael and I traveled together for 25 years, going on month-long journeys across this country every year, in various RV's. We saw all four corners of the country, spending at least one night in every state of the union, except Alaska.
He'd promised that he'd retire when he was 59 1/2, but that day came and went and he did not retire. 62 came and went. Finally, he said that he'd retire on October 10, 2006. He was 63. But on August 15, 2006, we found out that he had a brain tumor. A malignant brain tumor -- the sort of thing that does not get better.
We had 14 more months together, full-time, since he was no longer able to work. We did continue to travel, although I was now doing all the driving, all the hooking and unhooking, and making all the arrangements. Just 6 months before he died, we traded our 38' RV in on our little Navion, and he and I traveled 8,000 miles in that, before he became too incapacitated to travel.
Now, don't be sorry for me, please. :) Michael and I had 25 wonderful years, and, while it was shortened, his life was happy and good. We were fortunate in so many ways.
My point in sharing this is to say, without hesitation, "DO IT." If you have things that you want to do, do them. Dance like no one's looking, because no one is. Say "I love you," more. Laugh all you can. Learn something new today. Look at each other more. Love each other. And, yes, retire. No one ever lay on his death bed saying, "I wish I'd spent more time at work.
Of course, we all are going to die. But don't die before reaching for that dream for yourself.
Retirement's like a long weekend. I daresay you don't get to the end of the weekend with relief, because you were bored over the weekend! The only people who are bored in retirement are those who are bored with work and life in general. Bored = boring. If you're interesting, you'll be interested, no matter what you do.
Good luck to you!
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
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I don't think this could have been said better. DO IT NOW!!!!!
ReplyDeleteJust remember to never retire from life until you are out of it.
ReplyDeleteray kb9lgs
I disagree somewhat with this posting.
ReplyDeleteThat comment you made "No one in their death bed saying 'I wish I spent more time at work'.
The fact is there are some people well into their 60s, 70s & I've even met a few in their 80s who still work, not necessarily out of financial necessity, but because they would die either in the true sense or spiritually if they stopped working. I have & still do know such people. Some of whom tried retirement & they were depressed to put it mildly & some even with deteriorating health.
My grandfather worked many years in various branches of the UN; his last being here in Montreal for International Civil Aviation Organization. Upon retiring, he continued working freelance as a consultant of sorts, still travelling to some obscure places like Africa until his first stroke at age 80 approximately. Due to the physical limitations his stroke left him with, he couldn't work anymore. That was the biggest blow. He pretty much let himself go until a second stroke ended his life in 94.
This is an interesting topic though. Perhaps I will elaborate on it in my next blog entry.
Oh I forgot...all this to say is perhaps your friend should try taking a sebatical if his finances &/or employer permit & then decide if retirement suits him. Also, not sure about the states, but here in the province of Quebec (maybe even all over Canada), many companies, organizations & agencies in both the private & public sectors do offer a phased departure, meaning a year to 5 years prior to target retirement date, an employee can cut back on the days per week they work to ease into retirement & see if that works....
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