Dropping Our of The Rat Race

[MTY]

I retired last Wednesday for the second time. Two jobs with a three year break in between. A little over 42 years when the two jobs are added together. I've been working since well before puberty.

I went up to the new house Thursday morning and came home today. No TV, no internet, no phone, and no radio station that I would care to listen to. I built a segmented block retaining wall, cleaned out last year's garden to prepare it for this year, oversaw the building of the driveway to the shop area, and helped tear out the old cistern. While the big excavator was on site, I had the operator bust up the concrete as my mini would not break it.

I started back filling behind the new retaining wall, but need to pick up about 40 feet of drain tile before I can finish. This was a relatively small wall, with only about 130 seventy pound blocks. This brings the total set over the last two years to roughly 1030.

I am not sure I know how to not work. However, I enjoy hard physical work and peaceful evenings, so this may work out.

 

[Grizzerbear]

Congrats on the retirement...or the second one. I enjoy hard work as well. Even more so when it is done for myself.

 

[PaulOinMA]

Congratulations!

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

I retired last Wednesday for the second time. Two jobs with a three year break in between. A little over 42 years when the two jobs are added together. I've been working since well before puberty.

I went up to the new house Thursday morning and came home today. No TV, no internet, no phone, and no radio station that I would care to listen to. I built a segmented block retaining wall, cleaned out last year's garden to prepare it for this year, oversaw the building of the driveway to the shop area, and helped tear out the old cistern. While the big excavator was on site, I had the operator bust up the concrete as my mini would not break it.

I started back filling behind the new retaining wall, but need to pick up about 40 feet of drain tile before I can finish. This was a relatively small wall, with only about 130 seventy pound blocks. This brings the total set over the last two years to roughly 1030.

I am not sure I know how to not work. However, I enjoy hard physical work and peaceful evenings, so this may work out.

Congratulations.

I was in the same place, August 2019. I only lasted 20 years in the workplace. I planned for it since I was in my teens, but pulling the trigger was hard.

I don't care for hard work, but I do what needs done. I don't like to be managed, more so in a corporate environment.

Our society tells us that you need work to be valuable. I don't know about that, but I did my share for a lifetime in the 20 years.

If you're familiar with the story of Lonesome Dove, I think there's a message in there. Two retired Texas Rangers got restless in their retirement. So they created a work-adventure. The conclusion was on the tragic side of bittersweet, if you're not familiar.

Figure out a way to enjoy yourself, don't be a slave to the maxim that you need hard work to be a good person. Just be nice to the people you care about, and try to find some joy.

 

[MoDoug]

Congratulations on retirement! I retired 11 years ago after 36 years at the same company. It was a weird feeling not going into work, the usual routine, rat race, and work politics. I still miss a lot of good people, but it didn't take me long to realize I was born to be retired. I keep very busy outside, it's in my blood, sometimes I wonder how I had time to work.

You will enjoy it!

 

[clancey]

When I retired I put my feet up on a chair and was drinking my coffee looking out the door at the nasty weather snow-sleet-wind and freezing cold and said out loud--Wow I do not have to go to work today--Wow--as I drank my hot coffee with my feet up on the chair..Enjoy you retirement---Yes I was meant to be retired...Enjoy...clancey

 

[MTY]

Thanks all.

 

[PaulOinMA]

A friend asked how I was able to retire. Easy. I make my wife lunch and send her off to work.

Actually, she's younger than I am and wants to keep working. She has a great job and is working from home right behind me now.

 

[MTASH]

Congrats! I plan to 'retire' in nine more years when I'll be 55 and have 32 years in my current career and 40 years overall. Then find something else to do whether it makes money or not...

 

[peakbagger]

Welcome to the early phase of retirement. Most folks want to get away from the rat race when they first retire but at some point if they make it long enough they have to drift back to the cities to get the services they need.

 

[begreen]

Congratulations MTY! Take it easy on your body and pace yourself. It's a bummer when retirement gets upset by physical issues.

Welcome to the early phase of retirement. Most folks want to get away from the rat race when they first retire but at some point if they make it long enough they have to drift back to the cities to get the services they need.

That's why we moved out when the kids were young. Eventually you are probably correct. The motivator may be to move into a single-story home. But for now, we're staying rural.

 

[MTY]

I told the kid last week that when the time comes where I cannot live out, I'll feed the coyotes. Five of us used to hunt, backpack, fish, etc. together. We kept it up for about 30 years, sometimes two or three, sometimes more of us. We all retired at 55. One of us stayed busy, the rest took it easy. One of us is still upright.

 

[MoDoug]

I told the kid last week that when the time comes where I cannot live out, I'll feed the coyotes. Five of us used to hunt, backpack, fish, etc. together. We kept it up for about 30 years, sometimes two or three, sometimes more of us. We all retired at 55. One of us stayed busy, the rest took it easy. One of us is still upright.

When I was working, and people retired ahead of me, I was happy they were retiring, but sad to see them go. It seemed all to often, not more than a year or two later, we got word about some of them dying. That left an impression, I wanted to retire while I had good health and could enjoy life, fortunately I was offered a buy out at 56 years old and I jumped on it. I think it's very important to keep physically and mentally busy, finding new challenges and conquering them. As our great grandson used to say, "I did it!".

It sucks to get old, but it beats not getting there.

 

[MTY]

I took a buy out at 55. I never had to work again. One week after the buy out, I was working in a foreign country. After that, I lived for a year buying junk at garage sales, and selling it online. When forced to use Paypal, I quit the online sales. I also bought stuff at auctions and resold it on Craigslist. I spent the last 11 years running a gun store.

I have extensively remodeled 3 houses over the last 10 years. For the 30 some years I worked for the company that provided the buy out, a common employee lament was that one was so busy working one could not go to school. I obtained degrees in philosophy and psychology while working for that company.

I have often thought that if you rest, you rust.

 

[PaulOinMA]

... we got word about some of them dying ...

I recently learned two former colleagues died last year. 71 and 73. Way too young. Both obituaries stated it was a cancer for several years. Totally unexpected.

Worst was a former colleague's wife's dad in the 1990s. Retired from a long career from AT&T in NJ. Died soon after retirement on the 18th green on a golf course after shooting the best round of his life in his first round after retiring. Hadn't even received his first pension check.

I mentioned her dad's passing to the priest at a Russian Orthodox church here at their biannual Bazaar Russe dinners. We were talking about living and enjoying life. He said that he was going to mention that in his sermon.

 

[MoDoug]

Actually there's another sad story along these lines, one near and dear to me, my sister fought lymphoma for 2 years before subcoming to it, two months before retirement. RIP, loved her so much! We have to appreciate what we have going for us while we can, I know I've been so fortunate.

 

[MTY]

Being able to be grateful for what you have is the best thing that can happen to you. It brings joy many time per day.

 

[clancey]

As we get older we loose some friends and relatives and this is always so sad. So far from my beginning counting I count about 20 or so who have moved on to a more green pasture maybe with pretty cows..who knows. I am thankful that I have been able to have my small home and fix it up and be able to put my feet up and rest when it is time and play with my pigeons..I am grateful for good health through no doing on my part but I have broke some bones and back bones and sometimes I have problems but as far as everything else I have been blessed. We are very fortunate and we know we have a good way of life at least at looking at it and deciding what we believe in and how we want to live--everyday is a new day and holds its own surprises...Get up early and say your prayers and keep moving...Thanks for all your help and bless you all and your family as well..clancey

 

[peakbagger]

I was the youngest child of a youngest child and my parents married late. I had lots older relatives in the 1960s and the 1970s that passed by the time they were seventy, most with only 3 or 4 good years after they retired. Many were mill workers. Cigarettes and plugged up arteries led to strokes and heart attacks. There was a big change in the medical practices in the late seventies going forward where they could catch things early enough to extend someone's life. Pretty soon a lot of folks were making it to their eighties and my dad made it to 97. Back then with the exception of a few types of cancer it was go home and make arrangements, these days some can be cured outright or at least the folks can get it have a lot more years of life. Unfortunately for males, prostate cancer is probably never going to get the media and public attention that breast cancer does so spending on very prevalent form of male cancer is only a fraction of that spent on breast cancer.

Years ago I saw some early anti smoking doctor say that lighting a cigarette was just lighting a fuse. For some folks it may 10 years to burn up the fuse but for many it takes longer but eventually it blows up on all of them.