That is the definition of living a wonderful life...
Printable View
I retired from the US Army 5 years ago at 53 and have never looked back. I have siblings that always ask me what do I do with my time, and my standard answer is "whatever I want to do." The thing I learned quickly is that I don't HAVE to be busy all the time. Maybe I'm a slacker, but every second of the day does not have to be filled with activity for me to feel satisfied and fulfilled. Do I get bored, living in the country and not working? Occasionally....but you know what? It beats the hell out of endless meetings, writing performance reviews, adhering to someone else's schedule, and all the other BS that comes with full time employment. But I can find things to......even if it's splitting wood...there're always chores on my little place in the country.
I'm always asked......so you didn't like your job in the Army - is that why you retired early? NO - I really enjoyed my job as an Occupational Therapist and also as a senior military officer. Health care in the military is great as a provider with no third party payers to worry about and none of the paperwork requirements to deal with. I loved it actually, but I love not working more.
Of course, having a decent pension with no children and a spouse that also receives a pension removes the financial incentive to continue working....but bottom line --- I'd do it again.....in less than a heartbeat.
I just returned to work from a 2 month Covid work stoppage / vacation. I absolutely loved it and can't wait to actually retire. I'm 55 and hope to retire in 4-6 years. Only bummer was my wife is an essential worker and couldn't join in the pre-retirement fun.
Given a gift of a few years off right now I would take advantage of it and travel domestically in our Airstream. The United States is a big place and there is a lot to see.
At this stage of life I am not interested in a 2nd career. I wouldn't mind taking some classes at a local community college for personal enrichment but not to pursue a degree. I would also consider a frame building class. No desire to build for others but it would be neat to have a frame I built myself.
Do you like to cook? I can see a lot of time spent making quality food as opposed to the rushed meals. I also like the Yoga suggestion someone else mentioned.
I did 27 years in the Navy as a mustang, retiring as an O-4. I retired because my son needed me and the now-ex wasn't interested in parenting. I'd be in zone for O-6 about now. After retiring in the PNW, I took a job in Paris, TX as an engineer and did that for six years before taking a VSP payoff and moving to AZ for an Engineering Manager job. I plan on working until my son graduates from Annapolis then shifting over to teaching history. I call facilitating online classes for a community college my retirement. I have a few health issues from my 20 deployments including one that may potentially put me at 100% by the fall. In that case, I'll stop working and start living life to the fullest.
Though I'm only 35, I would do great in retirement. I like to try lots of things, use free time not that badly, and in the words of a Tall One "go on jags," like learning silly skills, reading the whole Steinbeck back catalog all at once, doing a little writing here and there, tinkering with bikes, etc. My wife, I'm not convinced. She's a company man, very good at her job, likes to be awesome at something (and she is an awesome teacher - watching her do her job with us doing WFH during COVID was really cool). I think she'd fidget. That kind of distinction in what kind of guy you are might help you figure out what you want to do.
What would I do with some time like this, were I in your shoes? A true vaycay, like Caribbean sand and surf type trip for a week or two --> Bike trip a la coast to coast tour again, or Poland to Portugal, or state to state with the MTB in the van --> something challenging like more school or the Peace Corps or a humanitarian endeavor like building sanitary latrines in remote areas in Peru or something. As a pilot, you could probably do cool things.
Rinse repeat.
We remain on an academic schedule so far, which is nice. Whatever I said about retirement, I would truly just be happy with solid summer sorties with my kids over the years, once they're of the more adventuresome ages --> Camino Santiago one year, a month on the AT the next, humanitarian mission, bike tour, etc. Spin the wheel.
FWIW, what I am considering is actual retirement. Just a longish sabbatical.
I am leaning in this direction but it’s by no means certain I’ll take the offer. For one thing, coming back to my line of work after a couple years off is not necessarily an easy thing.
Thanks for all the responses.
I even have an idea for some educational opportunities.
I knew that when I kept writing "retirement" but didn't write everything I meant to; based on the chance it could bleed into that, retirement itself might be a helpful bellwether.
What educational oppo were you thinking of?
Some kind of cooking school. I have literally zero knowledge in a kitchen. I’d like to change that. I watch a lot of cooking videos. Many are lame but some (Sam the Cooking Guy) are really fun in their own right. I’d love to be able to cook and entertain.
Also, one of my two majors in college was Theater. In high school I enjoyed being part of that and in my summers when I wasn’t on the bike I was a volunteer at summer stock theater in my hometown. I’d die of fear onstage but I loved the behind-the-scenes action of live theater. I can easily imagine dipping my toes back into amateur theater.
I can imagine some flying too in the right circumstances but it’s not a high priority.
I wish you well in any route you choose.
It's not a big deal.
It's your deal.
But don't count out love down the road.