I'm Retired! Now what?

This is the first day of the rest of my life.  Yea, I know that’s an overused cliché, but for this day in my life such a statement has never been truer.  This is my first day of what we call in the industrialized world, RETIREMENT.   Yesterday, I basically turned off the lights at the place where I’ve worked for the last 37 years, and they let me off with an additional two months, a week’s pay for every year I’ve put in, and a 100% payout on 340 vacation hours!

So here I am.  I just turned 62, and I can honestly say that I’m in decent health.  When I was a kiddo, I figured at the age of 62 I’d have one foot in the grave and the other in the mud.  But I don’t feel old at all!   I’ve still got the majority of my hair and most of it is the same color (at least it was this morning).  My blood pressure is settling around a calm 103/70, and I actually weigh less now than I did when I graduated high school.  Can’t wear the same jeans though.  Someone’s got a weird sense of humor regarding that screwed up, natural phenomena.  And just last week, I recorded eight miles on my hour long work out on an elliptical, which is an exercize machine for those gym challenge people.  So my doctor tells me I’m physically good while my financial planner tells me I’m good money wise. 

So this brings up the pressing question…now what?  For the last thirty-seven years my social life has revolved around those folks who have drifted through my work life, and I can honestly say the few folks that I would call nonworking friends are merely a few distant college connections and relatives that I see every two or three years, depending on who has died or who’s getting married.  And of course, there are those Facebook friends who I rarely ever see in person.

Socially speaking I’m the kind of guy who will talk to anyone who’s willing to talk to me, but I’m not one to take on the “What’s up man?” initiative with total strangers.  I will strike up conversations with the local friendly sorts when I’m out walking through the neighborhood, and I have created a few short-term relationships with fellow music fans between bands at concerts.  Concerts tend to get a bit social because we’ve all got a common bond there.

I’ve worked for the same company since I was twenty-five, and although I’ve always liked my job (Most days anyway.  I’m not one of those weirdos), I have always lived by the sacred words of the old Loverboy song, “Everybody’s working for the weekend.”  So this leads to the question, “What happens when every day is the weekend?”  Should I mow my lawn every day?  Go to movies every day?  Those are my weekend things.

Honestly, I don’t physically feel much different than I did when I was thirty.  Okay, I can’t put my feet behind my head any more, but I did complete a 27-mile hike in the Grand Tetons a few months ago.  Okay, it was supposed to be a ten-mile hike, but I think I went left when I should have gone right.  These things happen.

 Most of the people I work with are going out and finding new and exciting jobs, but after doing the same job for nearly forty years, I’m not sure I have the confidence or the skill set to do anything new.  And even with my two college degrees, I’m not sure what I’d be qualified for.  I’m guessing that pushing shopping carts through the Walmart parking lot does come with its rewards.  There’s no doubt it’s great cardio, but I’m not sure if the yellow vest would complement me. 

So once again, this is truly the first day of the rest of my life.  Now, I just have to figure out what that life is going to be.