I am on the cusp of retirement. Is that the proper use…. the cusp of my ‘working years’? At the age of 65 we can (hopefully) retire and I am going to. This job has gotten too hard, too physical to keep going for a pittance wage. What I’m finding funny is the way people are re-acting to my retiring.
Everyone dreams of retiring but when I say I’m going to, the reactions go like this;
“Why are doing that?”
“What are you going to do?”
“Don’t you want the extra money?”
My generation is funny about his subject. I’ve written about this before; work is not a virtue! You are not ‘more good’ (I don’t mean better) the more you work.
My silent answer is; if you have nothing better to do than come to this place then maybe you better question your own life! This is no career; this is working hard and as fast as I can for minimum wage.
What am I going to do? Whatever I want. If the weather is bad, I’ll stay home. When the kids announce they are coming to the beach….. I’ll be ready. I’ll keep my house and yard tidy, exercise and relax, cook healthy meals, have a garden again, do some sewing, maybe make some lamps. What I have found that if you do all those things……. that’s a day! That is a good, productive, healthy, satisfying day. That’s not being lazy.
2018 is going to be a banner year for me! In honour of my retirement the government of Canada is legalizing marijuana! The summer of 2018 I will be experiencing freedom! (I better not have that heart attack I was ‘wishing’ for a few years ago.)
Knowing I’m on the cusp is going to get me through this summer. Pretty soon the hoards of beach-goers, cottagers and tourists will descend on our small beach town to enjoy their summer fun and leisure. My work schedule will be all can do for eight weeks.
‘One more summer’……. that’s what I keep telling myself… one more summer.
monicle's chronicles 
So well said. There is so much to do beyond the confines of a “real job.”
You have a wonderful retirement!
I’m not yet ready for an official retirement at 45, but I can tell you that my dad (who actually retired at 54) has had the greatest years of his life since. He even told me so a few times. And then there are people like my doctor who says he never intends to retire. Going to his job is the pleasure of his life. Knowing what is and isn’t a pleasure in life is important. Those I feel sorry for, however, are the ones that retire and do nothing and don’t enjoy it.
Me too! Me too! As soon as the school year ends, so does (finally!) my “working Life.” What’ll I do?!? Name it!
Love the title.
Doing what you enjoy is what you’ve worked for all these years! 3 more years and I will also fully retire. I work from home and love what I do. Just wish I had more time to write more books! But drawing my Social Security at 62 has helped me not worry about whether or not I have work coming in every week. ~Elle