It has only been a month, but I am already getting tired of this thing called “retirement.” I don’t know if I want to do it for the rest of my life.
     Of course, it is not exactly my idea of how retirement was supposed to work. I envisioned picking a day a few years in the future and saying, “That will be the date when I want to retire.” And it would be in conjunction with my wife’s retirement.
       I was planning on paying off the two cars my wife and I drive, putting a few more bucks safely away in our IRAs and doing some of the home repairs that are starting to surface around the old homestead. It is 15 years old, after all.
      Two things interfered with that well-crafted plan. 1) The faltering economy, which created havoc with my 401k, and 2) the faltering economy, which dealt a blow to my employer (The Florida Times-Union) and forced them into cost-cutting measures (a.k.a., layoffs).
       Ah, but such is life. What is the old saying, when life hands you lemons, make lemonade? That, of course, is what I plan to do — just as soon as I can find a lemonade recipe.
      Before you get the wrong idea, I am not complaining. My wife and I live a wonderfully fulfilling life with our marriage, family, friends, faith and health, all in good stead.
     Obviously, I am just going through a period of transition and it is taking some adjustment. I don’t want to discover a month from now that I am still doing the same things from day to day and not accomplishing anything. I think that is what a lot of people go through when they are not working. They don’t have a sense of getting anything done.
     I do have this wonderful gift of a web site (created by my son Jeff) that keeps me busy and gives me a daily purpose. The danger is in spending too much time on it and ignoring some of the other priorities. I’ll adjust in time, I’m sure.
     I see now why a lot of people stay on their jobs for as long as they can, such as two legendary football coaches, Joe Paterno at Penn State and Bobby Bowden at Florida State. Joe is 81 and I think Bobby is 79. Why either one of them wanted to stick around that long is a mystery to me, but more power to them. Most of us would probably just be glad to be around at their ages.
     My dad had a difficult adjustment from his military career to civilian life but that was due to his health and a poor job market at the time. My plan is to find meaningful employment in the new year. If that doesn’t happen, there is always some volunteer work I can do, I am sure.
     I gotta go now. It is time for the mailman and I want to see if my unemployment check has come yet. Catch up with you next week.