Oof. "When it comes time for me to resign..." There's just so much in that little short sentence, isn't there? I was at this swanky executive club last night having drinks and socializing with some heavy-hitters, and one of them has recently retired. Bought himself a $2.8m beach house to celebrate, and we threw a little party there a couple weeks ago. Last night he tells me, "Retire as soon as you fucking can. There's nothing better. Most energizing, focusing thing I've ever done. It refocuses your entire life and energy, and helps you understand what is really important to you. Get out of the water... stop treading water... and watch the stream flow for a bit. THEN you will know what you want to do with the rest of your life." My Mom retired years and years ago... and has more work now as a garden designer than she ever had running the western region of the US Chamber of Commerce. And she LOVES her work. And her clients. And her gardens and plants. So I try to put myself in this frame of mind... if I retired tomorrow, what would I do on Monday? Blank slate. No To Do List. Just... open possibilities. And I have NO FUCKING IDEA. I graduated from high school - where I worked after school at numerous jobs - and went to work full time. I don't really know anything other than working for a company... setting an alarm... making sure I am available during business hours as a resource for other people in the company... just... what the heck would I do? And why? Right now, it is just a fun thought experiment. But yeah... the retirement thing was never something I thought I would ever be able to do, because I didn't follow the prescribed career path and climb the corporate ladder. So it's an interesting exercise to think about......
I think I'd be great at being retired. I'd do the things I do now outside of work during the day and have evenings to relax. Go swim at 8 am when the pool is less busy with the morning swimmers off to work. Stop at a coffee shop for coffee and a scone, then go out for a 2-3 hour bike ride. Have a lunch and a nap, then go for a walk before dinner. After, read for a bit or watch a movie and head to bed. Or on other days, drive to any of a number of nature areas and hike all morning. Or as long as I can, run the trails. I'd be great at being retired, but none of the things I do would earn extra money. It would be all cash out on gym memberships and bikes and cars and gas. I'd love to travel again to hike when the pandemic is more under control.