History It's official. First day of retirement!

I retired almost 3 years ago and it is too easy to develop bad habits that don't work done in the shop or don't actually get that list of honey do projects done.
One bad habit is the "I'll just see what is going on the Hamb while I drink this first cup of coffee. It might be better to take that mug of coffee out in the shop and get something done while you have some undisturbed quiet time. Especially if the significant other doesn't get around and want things done early in the morning.
Post a build thread on that project as active build threads seem to keep some of the builders moving along at a reasonable pace.

A little off topic but over the past 40 or so years I've found that the guys who usually get the most accomplished on their home garage hot rod or custom projects have significant others who are pretty seriously involved in their own hobbies be it gardening, quilting, painting or other hobbies. The gals who have no hobbies or interests to speak of of their own tend to think your garage time interferes with "together" time while the gals who are involved in their own hobbies see your garage time as their hobby room time. Meaning "he is out in the garage and I can work on this quilt without being disturbed but I know right where he is. "

 

^^^^ I’m just getting over my left shoulder job now, luckily getting it done so ready to retire with a good shoulder.
Congratulations to the op, 5 more years for me.

 

The absolute best and worse of times. You can do what you want but you know your time is limited. Don't waste any of it.

It's incredibly hard to believe it's been 16 months for me. I had adjusted to retirement before I ever retired.

 

Congratulations & best wishes for a long, long & healthy retirement !

I retired 20-years ago and made lists of all the things I wanted to get done. I ran across the lists a couple of weeks ago and so far, only have about a quarter of them are done, but I've had a great time ignoring the rest of them.

 

Congratulations ! Just turned 65 a month or so and already I'm sure they are trying to weed me out.....

 

Now git busy

 

no such thing as retiring..just shifting gears..

 

By the looks of it. You spent your whole day on the HAMB.

 

Ditch the alarm clock!

John

 

The alarm clock only gets used if I want to get an early start for a swap meet.
I was very lucky. My wife didn't have a 'honey do list'. She knew there were all those pesky things around the house that I put off while working. You know how it goes, "I won't start that landscape/plumbing/ sticky door sort of job because I didn't want to stop and get cleaned up for dinner and head off to bed because of an early start at work" so the task gets put off. Once I retired it was full steam ahead to knock those jobs over.

 

Congratulation ,enjoy life
me 72y/o. worked for 55 years, with covid here in Aussie ,Company had to reduce staff from 160 to 70
due to no one flying into Airport, so put my hand up for a payout before they stopped the offer
Our regular trips to USA have stopped due to Govt regulations, not sure when we can resume flights

 

I took the approach of getting up early so I have some quiet time to have my coffee and read the hamb. My better half sleeps in a bit, then has to get ready for work so this way I am out of her way, I make her coffee and breakfast while she showers. I usually do my honey do list first thing while I am fresh, then head out to the garage to do
whatever job I am targeting at the moment. Of course my better half is significantly younger than I am, so she has
several years till she retires.

 

Congratulations!

Value every day & enjoy all the things you now have time to do, but definitely don't become a couch potato!!!!

God Bless
Bill
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...ar-transport-hauling-open-or-enclosed.614419/

 

Hello,

Well, for some, it is/was nirvana from those tough Monday mornings and busy work weeks. It is fun and exciting as we all get to relax and plan our day. My wife and I looked forward as we knew our son and his wife were going to have a baby. So, we looked forward to that day, when they would ask us for help.

That day came faster than we thought. They both had new jobs, new condo, responsibilities, etc. things we all took for granted. But, it hit them harder than most, so as nice grandparents, we took over as much as possible to allow those "always on the go" parents to get settled and start to think straight. It was a new direction, but our parenting skills and layback philosophy allowed us to be calm grandparents and providers.

For us, it was great. We had sleepovers once or twice a week, which led to 4-5 days a week and finally, up to 6 days on some weeks. If one or the other of those “on-the-go” parents were sick, all week long, a happy, smiling rambunctious granddaughter was with us doing fun stuff. (including taking nice long naps.) Once those napping days were over, it was a shock, that was for sure.

For most, retirement is relaxing, but there will be time to do stuff. It just takes a month or so of doing normal stuff and when the Monday morning comes, you will wonder why you are sitting there looking out at your yard. Then, the scheduling of long ago jobs arrives. No one wants to sit around and let the house get old and shabby, so an upgrade starts to build.

There is always the time to just say, “I am relaxing and there is nothing pressing to do or finish.” The jobs eventually will get done, but there is no time limit, within reason. Our small two car garage has been through several upgrades and is now in its last usage stage.

In between, our granddaughter growing up with us, it made us feel like parents, again. It came along with all of the responsibilities that go along with that portion of our 30 something lives, only it is 30 years later. It was different with her comparing it to our son growing up back in those early days. So, if anyone is in need somewhere in your family for grandpa/grandma duties, volunteer, it is well worth it.

Jnaki

Our granddaughter is now 16, in high school, thinking about a college/career and all of the teenage ups and downs. She and her friends have gone through some tough restrictive times with the pandemic. More so than we all went through as teenagers. So, their outlook is different. But, when she visits, she still wants to see our house, her room, and the memories that went along with her time with us. It will be sad when she goes away to college, but, things are looking up as she has selected a local So Cal 4 year school. Driving visits won’t be a problem.

So, retirement allows us to take the time to slow down and make sure she is getting along in her world as nice as possible. We are on "instant call" if there is any emergency or needs. She knows that and thanks us all of the time. Retirement allows those kinds of relationships we all need and cherish. Plus, we get to take naps anytime during the day… YRMV

Stay healthy and safe, as well...

 

Congratulations!
I tried retiring at 50 but I kept getting bills in the mail. I guess nobody got the memo.
I've got about 11 months to go now and looking forward to it.

 

Man enjoy your retirement!

 

Early morning and after dark getting home from hunting.

 

Good for you! Now you can join us in saying, "I don't know how I had time to go to work!", "Every day is Saturday for me", and, "Where did I leave my ______ (insert whatever you're looking for here)".

Have fun, and build something you've always wanted. Those kids will be fine if you spend some money on yourself.

 

Early morning being 8:00. Man, you are living the retired life.

 

Congratulations! So glad for you. I'm four years away myself, but who's counting.

 

Nice, I bailed 19 months ago. The stress was just too much, 39 years was enough. I really should not have gone back after my 2016 heart surgery.

I stay busy, always something to do around the house, pool and garden. I barter machine shop work for car repairs with one shop. I do work on the Ford and drive it when my back injury agrees with me. Nice to watch the birds off the deck while I sip my coffee.

The best part is I can always do something tomorrow if I don't feel like it today. I've lost about 25 lbs and feel a lot better these days.

 

I was eligible in 2013 for a buyout, I was 58. We would get a 25% bonus on anything owed to us, I would have walked out with $40,000 in cash. The timing was not good. Some of us waited around for another offer which never came.

Then the virus came around and was the deciding factor for me. Plus we had a lot of corporate nonsense going on, a new really bad MRP system that just about doubled any task and shot my stress level through the roof. I recall 30 years back, at the main facility we had an ambulance pulling up at least once a month. The local hospital called us "heart attack alley".

Today, my health is good. I stay active, eat a lot better, lost weight and pace myself. I walked out with a good 401k and 2 pensions, so my lifestyle is about the same. I think I may have worn socks 3x since I left work.

 

Welcome To the Club of Old Farts & Hoodlums to Watch the Board....!

Congrats on your Retirement Sleep Late Do what ever You Want to Do.!

Just my 3.5 cents

Live Learn & Die a Fool

 

I hate to think about what I turned down..... It was very significant. But I thought about what happens when that money runs out, and I really didn't want to go out and try to find work at this age, who wants to hire an old man who's only going to work for a few years? I'm still a few years away from full retirement, and maybe more important, a few years away from medicare. Health insurance is crazy expensive, and should we do without for a few years and if something came up it could potentially wipe us out financially. After all those years of working, I didn't want to take that risk. So I turned down the offer and planned to stick around for a few more years, to make full retirement benefits. But I had no way of knowing how bad things were going to get this year, and promising to continue to worsen. I shoulda took the money and ran.

 

What you will ultimately realize is.........."How did I ever find time to work for a living"? Things I did in one evening seem to take a week, or longer now.

 

Two months to go for me. 43-1/2 years, and they are not rehiring for my position. Crazy, but I can't worry about it. I can't wait. Gary

 

It's a wonderful thing! EVERY DAY'S A SATURDAY!

 

Yeah, the benefits are great, but the pay sux...

 

Bah, humbug. Retired from my fulltime job, 9:00 PM until 8:00 or 10:00 AM 6 years ago. Took a few days to get used to daylight hours but finally got to waking up at 5:00 AM. Thought to myself, "This is great", while sitting at the table drinking coffee with no one around to bother me. Next thing I know, the wife starts getting up about the same time to make sure I'm getting the stuff done she thinks is important. Remodeling the bathroom, re-painting the inside of the house, changing all the doorknobs and locks, planting more stuff in the yard and bitching when I mow it down. My telling her that if she wanted it to stay in the yard, it ought to be in beds so I know it's a flower and not a weed didn't go over well. After making sure I'm not just goofing off and actually doing something she feels is important, she takes herself back to bed.

I've also found out that if I take my phone with me to the shop, she's going to call me at least 7 or 8 times while I'm there, usually just about the time I've gotten in position for an overhead weld or anything I'm doing involving a creeper. I don't know if she's actually worried that something might happen to me or she's just checking to see if it's time for her to call the insurance company. My blood pressure goes up every time the phone rings so maybe there is a plan behind these calls. All I want to do is be able to finish one of MY projects.

 

Congratulations.
You're gonna work more and harder now than you ever did.
Enjoy it.