It isn't that I want to work forever, we all know I am lazy at heart and would love to live out my last decade or two doing nothing but reading, eating, cooking and traveling. The dilemma comes when I realize that those four things will not sustain a meaningful life for 15-20 years. Maybe I need a hobby? Something to occupy my mind and body other than being slothful?
Three of my siblings have retired as have many of my friends. Ours is the Baby Boom generation and we are all in our 60's and 70's, the correct age bracket to retire. But so many people have things that they love to do and retirement gives them the time to do those things: play golf, paint, build a boat, write a book, buy an RV and drive thousands of miles a year. Others have fun for a year or two and then get bored and depressed because they feel their lives are pointless. I don't want to fall into that category but I worry that I might.
In March 2020 a lot of us were forced to "retire" because of the Covid pandemic. California shut down for three months and most jobs disappeared for that time. People worked from home when they could but when you work in hospitality, like myself, that's not possible. When things began to reopen, I decided to wait to go back to work until it seemed safe. That wait was 15 months. Then I took myself out of that imposed retirement and now I am wondering how to approach my real retirement at the end of this year.
It seems like I need to have a plan. I have no idea what that plan entails but at this moment I have five and a half months to figure it out.
Part of me wants to be accountable for that plan in a way that will guarantee I actually will make some kind of a plan. In other words, if I start writing about it now, maybe I will be prepared for retirement starting January 1, 2022. Let's see how that unfolds. If you are one of the two people who read this, keep checking in and we'll see how well I do. Thanks for coming along on this ride.
Will do.
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