Preparing for Retirement

When I was 15 years old, I took my first official payroll job stocking shelves at the local Woolworth Department Store in Van Nuys, California.  I had to take the bus to get there and I hated the job, but loved the money.  Thankfully, I have spent the bulk of my working years loving my job and enjoying the money.  Yet eventually, even this aspect of my life will transition to a new life: retirement.  And loving retirement is not a foregone conclusion.In my thirties, I often exclaimed that I didn’t believe in retirement, though I faithfully contributed to a retirement account.  I claimed on numerous occasions that I was going to work for the rest of my life because my job was so fulfilling.  And it still is.  I thought retirement was really for those who held jobs like I did in my early work years, working strictly for the paycheck.  Or more likely it was for those who held physically, mentally, or emotionally stressful jobs that could not be sustained by an aging body and mind.  No doubt, many people work their entire lives at a job they tolerate for pay that may or may not be adequate, but provides them stability and a sense of self-respect. I understand and respect that notion of work.  I understand too, that for many people retirement is something to look forward to.  But that wasn’t my attitude.

I love my job.  I am fulfilled by my job.  My job in education allows me to contribute to society and individual lives everyday.  It is a privilege and a ministry to be able to support people seeking to find themselves, to learn about the world, and to improve their lives through higher education.  Why would I ever want to give that up?  I wouldn’t.   But then my husband retired a few years ago and the pressure to retire, too, has been mounting.

So, I’ve put an expiration date on my working days.  I’ve plotted out my plans for each of my remaining years.  And I’ve begun to imagine what retirement will look like for me.  I have to bear in mind that I get bored very easily.  Being a type A personality with a strong task orientation, the idea of sleeping in late,  sitting around reading or watching television all day, will fulfil me.  I have to be active and productive in retirement.  I’ll need to feel that I am contributing to society.

I’ve observed my husband in his retirement.  His notion of retirement, like his personality, are very different from mine.  He plays golf three to four days a week.  He sleeps at strange intervals throughout the day and night.  He works around the house, improving things, fixing things, and building things.  But mostly, he looks very bored to me.  However, he claims to love retirement.  He says he loves not having work commitments and being on his own schedule.  He’ll admit that too much of his time, however, is spent on the telephone with Medicare.  Thankfully, he saved adequately for retirement, so there are no money worries.  He does what he wants, when he wants.  He is liberated.  I do miss seeing him in his nice work clothes though.  He dresses nicely for golf and doctor visits, but other than that he is usually looking a little too grubby in sweats or shorts or coveralls.  Costco and Harbor Freight have become his favorite outings.

I have girlfriends and relatives who have retired, the most recent being my brother. They all claim to love it.  I ‘ve taken to informally interviewing them every chance I get.  What they seem to enjoy most is the freedom to come and go as they desire.  Some are glad to sleep in.  Some are dealing with mounting health issues that I guess are inevitable as we age.  It just reminds me that our days are numbered and that good health in retirement may not last forever.  I have noticed that some who retire seem to age overnight.  Still others retire and move to a different part of the country, either closer to family members or where the cost of living is much cheaper.  We’ve seen some spectacular pictures of retirement properties our friends have purchased in other states.   Moving to a less expensive state is my husband’s plan for when I retire.  We are negotiating where our new home will be, but we have both agreed that it will be somewhere without snow.  I don’t care for extreme heat either.  But this new home will serve as a home base for a few years.

My husband presented me with the idea of renting apartments in different places around the world for 3-4 months at a time.  The idea sounds intriguing.  I just want to make sure we follow the good weather.  I don’t handle heat and humidity very well and neither of us cares to deal with snow and frost.  If our health remains good, then this is a viable option.  I asked him if he will be adventurous with me in these travels as watching the television in an apartment in Taos, New Mexico, is worse than watching it from our own living room.

I’ve begun to think about the requirements for the new home and will mention a must have in passing as items come into my head.  For example, we must have a three car garage so that he can use a portion for his projects without having to park the cars outside.  We must not have a hillside to maintain.  We must have a large, eat-in kitchen.  We must have a large enough yard to grow our own produce.  We must have a one story so we won’t have to deal with steps as we age.  And then Michael added on Thursday as we were gardening that we must have a pool.   This was our first disagreement about our retirement house.  He doesn’t swim and I refuse to swim because it wrecks havoc with my hair.  Besides that, I have an awful fear of a child drowning in it. So, why take on the expense and headache of a pool?  He couldn’t rationalize the desire, only that he really wanted one.

The countdown to retirement is here.  The yearly plans to my work end date are set in motion.  What is left are the dreams and imaginings of what retirement can be.  And to love retirement will take good health, money, courage to try new things, and planning.