More lessons about the “R” word from folks with some smarts:
I have known many people who retired before their time and regretted it but I also know many people who have had wonderful retirements. Maybe retirement is like any other event in your life. You need to train for it.
My wife is a physical therapist. She does home visits and has many elderly patients. She was treating an elderly woman who suffered a fall. She was around 80 years old.
My wife has to evaluate the patient’s home environment to see if the patient is safe at home. She asked the woman if she lived alone. She said that she was married and that her 80 something husband was out riding his bike. My wife thought that the husband was riding his bike around the neighborhood. It turns out that he was riding his bike around Europe.
My neighbor in Maine is a for real lobsterman. He is 80 years old. Last winter I spoke to him while he was outside cutting his own firewood. He was all excited about the new lobster boat that he just bought.
F. Scott Fitzgerald said “There are no second acts in American life”. This is baloney.
I was in sales for many years in an industry that was dying. I sort of fell into the job and never really liked it but responsibilities always prevented me from leaving. Having the opportunity to do something else was like a blessing in disguise. I went back to school and got a Masters Degree in Computer Science and I am now a network engineer managing computer systems at one of the local colleges. At 41 years of age I reinvented myself and have not looked back.
I have also started teaching part time. I find this to be a great experience and it is a way to give thanks to all the people who took the time to help me during my period of “adjustment”.
One of the reasons I got into this business in the first place was that I recognized that I would not want to completely retire. I could still teach part time or do consulting work. Perhaps you might look into teaching at a local college. How cool would it be to take Mass Comm 101 with Professor Dick Summer?