Adjusting to ER

[Rusa]

I usually know what day of the week it is just to make sure I don't end up at Costco on a Saturday morning or somewhere else at the wrong day. There have been a few times, I've realized it was Monday and didn't watch any football on tv over the weekend because I forgot what day it was.

Me too, but I use a Page-a-Day calendar to keep track

 

[braumeister]

In the 13 years since I ER'd, I've used an alarm on very few occasions. Either to make an early flight while on a vacation trip, or to get up for an early race (they tend to start early, especially long ones).

As to alcohol, I don't drink wine or liquor, and typically have an average of two (very good) beers a day. On some social occasions, that may get up to four or five beers with friends, but that's not typical at all. This has been my normal alcohol intake for the last few decades, no change at all.

 

[rodi]

As for the drinking pre & post retirement.

My mom was an alcoholic. That has always made me hyper aware of my own drinking. Yet I drink. I enjoy it. What works for hubby and I is to have rules/limits. We never drink 2 nights in a row. We limit the quantity when we drink (split a bottle of wine between the 2 of us or have a single martini, each... ) We never drink before dinner... These rules may sound rigid/arbitrary... and they kind of are. But it allows me to enjoy some wine or a cocktail without worrying about turning into an alcoholic like my mom was.

Like I said - there's some flex to the rules... If a friend comes over, or is in from out of town - that can be an excuse to shift the rules or the night we drink. (Shift, not increase the consumption overall.) Vacations we relax a bit more - perhaps wine every night if we're in Italy, for example... (It would be a crime not to enjoy the local stuff.) But overall, we use the rules and it works for us. My husband was well aware of my mom's drinking and he's the one that came up with the plan.

I did notice that while working - on days I'd have spats with my boss or have a project go really badly - I'd make the case for it being a reason to flex the rules... I don't see that need anymore. Now the nights we drink are more aligned with tv shows LOL. We've been watching survivor, with a martini, since the show first aired. I skipped the martinis when pregnant, but other than that - the show requires a martini in our household. Watch MadMen without a cocktail? Sacrilege.. so we make sure our we don't drink the night before these shows.

 

[Sea Kayaker]

Well, as reduced as my desire for booze has become, I still plan on picking my spots and enjoying the odd glass of wine or bottle of beer down the road. But during this first year of ER, improvement of my fitness level is really a top priority. In my late 20's, I was quite the specimen... I want to see if I can get somewhat close to that in my early 40's. I can already tell that it's going that much harder to hit these fitness goals, even at a relatively spry age of 42.

Braumeister, you are an inspiration - if I can be doing even half of what you are doing at your age, I'll count myself fortunate.

 

[braumeister]

Braumeister, you are an inspiration - if I can be doing even half of what you are doing at your age, I'll count myself fortunate.

Thanks, but please don't give me more credit than I deserve.
I'm slow, and always have been.
My only goal when I enter a race is to finish in the top half of my age group.
Usually, I make it, but not always.

 

[BellBarbara]

Interesting thread. We don't use alarms, except if we have to be somewhere, like an airport. We used to drink to sleep, but we knew we did not have an alcohol problem because the desire to do that went away when we vacationed. One thing about drinking that we enjoy is making special cocktails, like for a social occasion. We never did this before, now we have time. Last event we made grilled pineapple margaritas.

I am falling into a night owl routine, which I always felt was my normal self. I love to stay up and watch movies and various series on netflix. I don't get to sleep before 1am much, but then I can sleep in - getting up at 9am is normal for us.

The one thing I notice about ER is that when I have a bunch of things to get done it feels like soooo much to do, which is sort of crazy, because I did that when I worked! Like if I have a list of 3 things to get done, I feel a little busy. haha

 

[athena53]

The one thing I notice about ER is that when I have a bunch of things to get done it feels like soooo much to do, which is sort of crazy, because I did that when I worked! Like if I have a list of 3 things to get done, I feel a little busy. haha

I know! Today will be "busy". Geology class 9 AM-noon. Realtor coming over at 1 to walk through the house and tell us what needs fixing before we put it on the market (visual things that are turnoffs- we know she's no substitute for a home inspector). At 2 I leave to go harvest acorn squash in the church garden. I'm skipping my workout because I rode my bicycle on the Katy Trail a lot over the long weekend and I have a 35-mile ride on Saturday, but DH and I need to go grocery shopping.

And yet it's nothing like a typical workday!

 

[BellBarbara]

That is a lot! Getting a house ready to sell is a ton of work. Good luck!

 

[athena53]

That is a lot! Getting a house ready to sell is a ton of work. Good luck!

Thanks! We've got plenty of time since we're planning to list it next year. The realtor says to wait to put the house on the market till we open the pool, so that will be mid-May at the earliest. I'm making a point of throwing out trash with every weekly pickup (we do donate/sell what we can) and have painting and removal of "popcorn" ceiling textures to do in some rooms. We just need to keep at it.