did you immediately start living a life of relaxation or did it take a while?

[CuppaJoe]

Originally Posted by lsbcal

To reduce stress while at coffee shop, leave that copy of War and Peace at home.

Calm down, calm down, stop saying these are really dangerous, stressfull waters. I transferred "War and Peace" from the e-book to an SD card attached to the e-book. Note to self: leave the SD card in a drawer; do not pick up that "free" paper, the cross-word puzzle might be too taxing. Load the e-book with humor.

Yeah, maybe stick to the rut I already know, the same coffee shop for a few months and fan out gradually. Think it would be ok to continue photographing "coffee shop dogs"? It does take some w*rk to delete the bad shots. Entry-level ERs need to proceed slowly.

[Finance Dave]

Originally Posted by Joss

I'm right at six months now and not going to work seems "normal". But I can't tell you when it changed. The Sunday blues Khan mentions go away. Now it's hard for me to tell you what day of the week it is. As to the date... haven't got a clue.

I love hearing things like the "I don't know what day it is" comment...I look forward to that.

And, here's my recommendation for a new household item.

http://tommcmahon.typepad.com/photos.../dayclock2.jpg

[Gsquared]

My last week of "work" I took a couple days off for "practice"...I didn't want to get to this wonderful milestone and screw it up. I've been like a kid in a candy store...

[Goonie]

Originally Posted by Finance Dave

I love hearing things like the "I don't know what day it is" comment...I look forward to that.

And, here's my recommendation for a new household item.

http://tommcmahon.typepad.com/photos.../dayclock2.jpg

What's really nice though, is that some of us (well myself anyway) not only don't know what day it is.....we don't even care what day it is!

(I have considered one of those clocks though. )

[audreyh1]

Originally Posted by Gsquared

My last week of "work" I took a couple days off for "practice"...I didn't want to get to this wonderful milestone and screw it up. I've been like a kid in a candy store...

I did something like that. I found out that I had one extra week of vacation that I would not be paid for - I had gone over the accrued limit.

So I proposed to my replacement that I take a week vacation off, and then come back for a week. He thought that was a great idea as it would help them figure out what they still needed to learn.

So I spent the week "playing" at being retired. It was great fun - we rode bikes, played tennis, cooked, went sailing a lot.

Then I went back for my final week of work.

I had a trip planned for right after retirement. So as soon as I did really retire, DH and I were really busy getting ready for this trip and then going on it. This turned out to be more like the real thing than the "practice" week. But still, it was a neat way to transition.

Audrey

[Nords]

Originally Posted by Goonie

(I have considered one of those clocks though. )

Our kid has been on school break for the last six weeks and we're discovering that we were really depending on her school schedule to tell us what day of the week it is. The trauma of going to Wal-Mart at 10 AM on a Saturday (when I thought it was Tuesday) is freshly etched upon my psyche.

Luckily she has a part-time job three days a week (making her the household's top salaried employee) so we're able to keep from totally losing our temporal bearings.

But this is going to be a problem when she graduates high school and leaves the nest. To prepare for that event we're waiting for a liqudiation sale when we're going to buy a couple dozen Dayclocks, keep one, and hand the rest out as retirement gifts...

[Want2retire]

Originally Posted by retiringat50

Last day of work was May 21st. Been out on sick time 6wks till this past weekend.
Now Im into 4wks vacation time and then Early Retirement will begin.
Im finding it hard to give myself permission, tell myself its ok to relax. Thats all I Need to do in life at the moment - RELAX
Did it take a while for you to just sit back, realize you didnt have anything pressing?

I am not retired yet (476 more days), but I had enough comp time accumulated to take next week off work. So, technically I am on vacation although I don't have anything planned other than doing nothing.

Right now I am SOOOO relaxed. It happens to be pouring rain and dark as night, even though it is 1:30 PM, and I am sitting in my living room listening to the soothing sounds of the rain and reading the ER forum. It had better be OK to relax, because I am doing it and I don't feel a bit bad about it. I just might take a nap in a little while, inspired by TromboneAl's napping post earlier today.

[happy2bretired]

Enjoy those naps. Right now I'm on the computer and on my bed with my daughter and doggy...just lazing around...just goofing off and enjoying our time together.

[lsbcal]

Originally Posted by Want2retire

...Right now I am SOOOO relaxed. It happens to be pouring rain and dark as night, even though it is 1:30 PM, and I am sitting in my living room listening to the soothing sounds of the rain and reading the ER forum. It had better be OK to relax, because I am doing it and I don't feel a bit bad about it. I just might take a nap in a little while, inspired by TromboneAl's napping post earlier today.

Rain in the summer? We don't quite have that concept here in Northern Calif. Today we're a bit rushed preparing to take a 4 week vacation. Yes, even in retirement there are all those bills to electronically pay and housework and shopping and gardening and keeping up with the ER forum... But maybe we'll find a little bit of that rain on our road trip to Mammouth Lakes, Yellowstone, and Glacier Natl Park. Boy I need this vacation .

P.S. OK, I'm bragging a bit. As to the OP's topic, it took some years to feel like I deserved to take vacation along with the working crowd.

[SteveR]

We have been too busy to really relax yet but I am getting closer. Actually had a nap the other day and still slept at night.

We spent the first 3 months on the road in our RV. It was a great way to eaze into our post-w*rk life style. We spent the next several months getting the house ready for sale, sold it and then moved 300 miles South. Now we are winding down the box unpacking and have started to schedule some trips again.

In our spare time we have had several family members visit us and stay at the house. It has been nice to visit with everyone and take advantage of the many things that are available close by.

We have a long list of projects but no real time table for getting them done. After unpacking and putting away many many boxes of stuff we are ready for a break. We head north for a month of RVing and visiting areas we have always wanted to see in central and western Oregon. A few days in Bend and a week or so on the shore should help cool us down and soak in the "green". We miss seeing lots of green as most everything here is some shade of red.

Anyway, take it easy and don't expect your life to change overnight...give it a few months and you too will have a clock with only the days of the week on it.

[audreyh1]

If you like seafood - don't miss the Hide Tides Seafood Grill on Bond Street - just across the street from the Deschutes Brewery pub (they had the best halibut fish and chips). The High Tides Seafood Grill is tiny and no reservations, so best to go on slightly off hours. But the food is fantastic and outrageously reasonable. What a deal!

BTW - do you have the current (2008 ) edition of the Big Rig Directory? Our motorhome is in there! The full page ad for Buckhorn Lake Resort in TX has our motorhome in it - our tiny claim to RV fame.

Audrey

[CuppaJoe]

Originally Posted by Want2retire

....

Right now I am SOOOO relaxed. It happens to be pouring rain and dark as night, even though it is 1:30 PM, and I am sitting in my living room listening to the soothing sounds of the rain ....

"...Don't you just love these long rainy afternoons in New Orleans when an hour isn't just an hour--but a little piece of eternity dropped into your hands?--and who knows what to do with it?"

Blanche, seductively (out of habit), to the newspaper delivery boy. Tennessee's ultimate expression of love for the woman he loved, the City of New Orleans?

[Want2retire]

Originally Posted by CuppaJoe

"...Don't you just love these long rainy afternoons in New Orleans when an hour isn't just an hour--but a little piece of eternity dropped into your hands?--and who knows what to do with it?"

Blanche, seductively (out of habit), to the newspaper delivery boy. Tennessee's ultimate expression of love for the woman he loved, the City of New Orleans?

So very true!! He was some incredible writer, wasn't he?

I wish we were having another long rainy afternoon. The rain really cuts the heat in the summer.

This afternoon it is 97 and getting hotter every moment, with our usual humidity. After going out to lunch with Frank, and then making a run to the grocery store, I don't intend to go out in that heat any more today.

[SteveR]

Originally Posted by audreyh1

...BTW - do you have the current (2008 ) edition of the Big Rig Directory? Our motorhome is in there! The full page ad for Buckhorn Lake Resort in TX has our motorhome in it - our tiny claim to RV fame.

Audrey

Thanks for the dining info. we will try it out.

We don't have the Big Rig directory for 2008...we skip a year. I will see if I can find it on-line.

Thanks

[In-control]

I retired in December last year and had a plan for my time as I did for my $. I can't stress how important that was as it aided in the transition. Each day I go to the YMCA and do an aerobic's class - meeting new and fun people. Then I would go out for a cup of coffee, using a coupon, and hang out with some people at various places, library, internet cafe's etc... After that I go home to do a few things around the house before the kids come home from school. I made a rule that I would not turn the TV on till after Dinner. This forced me to do other, more interesting things.

That worked for three months until I got a job offer at a private college, free tuition for the kids, where I now work in shorts and sandel's four days a week. Funny - I was not even looking for a job!

[mountaintosea]

Sounds like you need a little structure in your life. You can always build that in. I've been retired about 9 months and found that going to the gym in the mornings 3 days a week and walking around the lake the other 3 days, with a day not doing a darn thing, gives me a place to go etc. But with a diabetic dog I really can't go too far for too long. Plus I decided I needed to exercise a little when Kaiser sent a prescription for a statin drug in the mail after a blood test. Talk about wake up call.

But everything is fine now no drugs needed!