Retirement: One Year In

It’s now been a year since I retired. Though much of the past year has been marked by pain and limited activity, it has also been filled with joy and countless blessings.

It took a couple of months for the reality of retirement to truly sink in. At first, my thoughts were mostly centered around one simple truth: I no longer had to deal with the stress. The joy came from repeatedly thinking, “It's not my problem anymore.”

There is no peace of mind quite like walking away from an environment that left you drained, burned out, and exhausted. But that initial relief was only a distraction from the deeper, truer joy of retirement — knowing that my wife and I can now enjoy the life we spent so many years working for. I spent fifty years chasing a paycheck. No more.

Now, with healing well underway after back surgery — along with the relief it has brought — we are beginning to embrace this new chapter. It finally feels like the culmination of a successful career. And then there are the little things — like not having to spend Saturdays on chores, and enjoying our favorite lunch spots and avoiding the weekend crowds.

These days, I look forward to waking up in the morning. Interestingly, I rarely set an alarm, yet I still rise around the same time I did during my working years. Sometimes even earlier — probably because I can finally look forward to the day ahead. And sometimes, I just smile, roll over, and go back to sleep.

I like the AI-bot impression!

Cheers!