Retirement, the First Day

It’s 6:00 a.m. and your eyes are wide open. The alarm clock wasn’t even set the night before, but old habits are hard to break. Today is the first day of your retirement. You don’t feel like a senior citizen but today you will not be going to the office, store, or job site but rather will sit at the breakfast table a little longer drinking that extra cup of coffee and wondering ” what now?”.

It’s your first day of retirement and time to review the retirement plans that you have been making for years. Are you going to expand that workshop so you can finish all those remodeling projects that you have put on hold? Maybe you will finally buy that set of golf clubs you have had your eyes on and go the driving range to hit a bucket of balls. Or perhaps you will now have the time to make your yard and landscaping the best in the neighborhood. How about getting involved in a senior volunteer program? Maybe you just want to enjoy a leisure outdoor activity.

There are literally hundreds of interesting retirement activities you can get involved in now that you are retired. Which ones you choose is not as important as making the commitment to get involved in an activity or project that is both challenging and satisfying. Having an activity you enjoy will give you a purpose for your retirement years. You start out slowly and watch it develop into an accomplishment of which you can be proud. The first day of retirement is very special. You have been looking forward to this day for a long time —– like a child waiting for Christmas morning.

Today is the time to sit down with your spouse and perhaps other family members and discuss how you are going to make the most of all that extra free time you suddenly have. Remember, you still have as much as 1/3 of your life ahead of you. Retirement is not an ending, but rather the beginning of new experiences and opportunities. Retirement is an extension of living. Look around you. Are you happy with what you see or do you want to make changes?

t is your choice.Your retirement years are ahead of you and how you make the best of these years will determine the quality of the rest of your life. You have paid your dues, now take the plunge!

Article by Piet Van Lier