Retirement

One of my initial intentions for writing this blog was therapeutic. I just retired after working for 32 1/2 years for an excellent school district. I enjoyed my job! I had a particularly close relationship with the other people in my department. They became an extended family, a family that supported me when I was down, and a family that encouraged me to stretch my wings and fly when I was fearful of something new. In all honesty, I came to love these people. Now I’m searching for my unique purpose and my new direction in life. I’ve seen all the commercials on TV and heard all the glowing reports that retirement is so enjoyable. Even my retired friends and social media seem to be having a blast. One of the commercials on TV that particularly comes to mind is showing an elderly couple leaping off a pier at some mountain resort in doing idyllic Lake with little or no clothing on and metaphorically casting off all of the trials and tribulations of their previous life for new beginnings. I’m wondering what’s wrong with me? Some of us enjoy working. The schedule, reliability, and consistency are meaningful. Now I find that if I didn’t have my smartphone with me all the time, I would not know what day it is let alone the correct date. I’m finding that I feel a little lost. My identity was associated closely with my job. Now is the time for me to evolve!

It’s not that I’m not busy because I am! As in one of my earlier postings, I stated that we had just moved to a new home and I’ve been moving in a double step fashion to put things away and get rid of the boxes so that I can see the floor in the walls. I also have a new puppy, Teddy, which takes up a lot of my time! I’m sure you’ll hear a lot more about him in the future.

Has anyone else had similar feelings after they retired? If so, leave me a comment.