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Old 06-11-2019, 04:44 PM   #41
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Teach him how to use podcasts to break the Fox News couch habit.

Hours of great conservative politics that you can listen to doing yard work, cooking, biking, walking and so on.
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Old 06-11-2019, 05:01 PM   #42
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In retirement, I have lost some passion for tinkering with/understanding/integrating IT technology. It was an enjoyable part of my job, and I was getting paid well for it, to the point where I had a "home data center" along with the work lab I managed to deal with various It software technologies, and was reading around 200 pages a week to keep it. Since retiring I thought I might keep tinkering, but as it turns out I have not been nearly as active with it, and more than half my home data center has stayed dark.

I have gotten several job offers to do the same, but they have all been fulltime opportunities requiring commuting, easy to turn down... I also do not have the passion for paid work anymore.
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Old 06-11-2019, 05:35 PM   #43
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Originally Posted by simple girl View Post
This thread is inspiring in that it shows you can re-invent your dreams at any age, no matter what the ability or interest, or even disability. You may have a vision for what your retirement will be - but the best vision is to realize you have the freedom for it to become whatever you decide you want or need it to be. The only constant is change.
Well said, simple girl.

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After retiring, I realized that many of the activities I thought I'd want to do more of were just stress busters. And w/o the stress of work, they weren't all that appealing anymore.
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Originally Posted by mtnman View Post
I completely and unexpectedly lost a passion to train for and compete in endurance events once I retired. It seems the stress of work provided the fuel needed to hammer my body. I now enjoy house projects, fly fishing, and the occasional hike or mountain bike ride.
Many of us probably confused passion with stress busting. I sure did.

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Are we losing passion? Or just getting older? Like, does your old passion now get in the way of nap time?
Good question. I often wonder how aging affects the choices I make, along with DW, siblings, and others that are close and similar age. Perhaps we tell ourselves (and each other) little white lies instead of facing the truth.

One thing I am sure of is, retirement allows me to choose to spend more time doing things I enjoy, less time doing things I dislike, and my overall sense of satisfaction with life has never been higher.
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Old 06-11-2019, 05:55 PM   #44
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Nothing better than waking up from your own bed well rested and ready to face the day.
Sounds like you didn't go to the NBA after one year of college.
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Old 06-11-2019, 06:32 PM   #45
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Thank you for this post! I feel redeemed in a way.

This is amazing, I could have written this message verbatim. My boating has been centered around fishing mostly but plenty of family boating as well. I have boated and fished my entire life. Throughout that time it was something I lived and breathed anticipating the day when I retired and could do it all the time. But I find the desire has waned.

Since retired (only 4 months) I find the best part of my day is walking my new puppy in the woods, off leash, and seeing the occasional deer. I also enjoy riding my bike on trails and on the Cape Cod Canal. My workouts are also more important to me now (mostly power-lifting) that I am retired. I also have a "resort" and would rather be on the resort working on the yard or on the house than traveling to pretty much anywhere.

I've been blaming lack of energy for this transition. Maybe not. Perhaps it is just a new vision of life and what it has to offer.
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Old 06-11-2019, 06:55 PM   #46
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Originally Posted by mtnman View Post
I completely and unexpectedly lost a passion to train for and compete in endurance events once I retired. It seems the stress of work provided the fuel needed to hammer my body. I now enjoy house projects, fly fishing, and the occasional hike or mountain bike ride.
Bummer about loosing it for endurance events (assuming that this isn't power snoring). Was planning on lots of long runs when I RE.

Oh: Welcome MtnMan & enjoy it here!
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Old 06-11-2019, 07:21 PM   #47
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I was downright obsessive about my hobbies and interests while w*rking. I think I wanted to carve out my own private escape time. I was huge into music, photography, biking, and kayaking. I used to kayak in weather so cold that spray would freeze on the surface of my gear. I only averaged around 6 hours of sleep in order to fit in my all hobbies after w*rk. Absolutely crazy!

Now, I still enjoy these hobbies, but I'm growing less obsessive. I stopped riding and boating in awful weather. I still enjoy my music and photo, but I've stopped obsessively upgrading gear and no longer w*rk on project well into the early AM. I feel so much more RELAXED!

Even vacations have slowed down. We drive everywhere; we haven't been to an airport since retiring. We now under-schedule or have no schedule at all, figuring it out as we go. We love NOT having a fixed return date. Our last 2 week snowbirding road trip lasted over 5 weeks.

I must confess, though, that we are slowing down, as much as i hate to admit it. Did some crazy, maybe even dangerous stuff in kayaks years ago. Now, when in doubt, we just go to dinner instead of taking risks on the big water. Used to backpack years ago, and I miss it. Ground has gotten much harder throughout the years though...
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Old 06-11-2019, 07:29 PM   #48
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One thing I am sure of is, retirement allows me to choose to spend more time doing things I enjoy, less time doing things I dislike, and my overall sense of satisfaction with life has never been higher.

Yep, this covers a lot of it. Doing what I enjoy with people whose company I enjoy has made all the difference.
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Old 06-12-2019, 04:28 AM   #49
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We have also tuned up home base, but still love travelling.
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Old 06-12-2019, 05:13 AM   #50
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I worry a bit about my hubby and I clashing once we're retired, as he likes to mostly sit in a recliner and watch awful things like Fox news channel ... I've already told him he's gonna need to up his game once we're spending more time with one another or he's gonna need "a checkup from the neck up", lol!
When people ask me "How is retirement?" I first tell them it is great! I get to sit around all day and watch cable news.

And then I wait for The Look.

Ha ha ha, I can't let it go too long. Cable news of any flavor is the last damn thing I want to watch. I do watch a bit more Science and Discovery. I try to limit it though and get out of the house for most of the day.

But if it works for your husband, you can always get another setup in a different room and watch wonderful MSNBC all day. Dinners would be really nice when you sync up.
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Old 06-12-2019, 05:53 AM   #51
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Golf just doesn't do it for me anymore. A complete collapse of passion.

Agreed. I’ve got a set of custom clubs sitting in the garage collecting dust. I think a passion will eventually re-emerge. I’ve been so beaten down in recent years because of my former j*b. Currently I’m content simply to be puttering around the house and catching up on projects. I figure I’ve got another month or two of those...
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Old 06-12-2019, 07:48 AM   #52
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I have always been a boater and motorcycle rider. Some of these posts nailed it though, lots of the passion is gone from it at 71. Keep the boat in the water at a marina and probably only go out twice a month. Harley sits in the shed and gets used about the same. Has to do with old age and lack of stress that those things used to help with as some have said.
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Old 06-12-2019, 08:16 AM   #53
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Adapt and move on. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.
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Old 06-12-2019, 09:15 AM   #54
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Life on the Lake

We have a boat dock at our "resort"/home and a 26 foot pontoon boat so we continue in retirement to boat...we have a full enclosure so we like boating in the Winter on our 33,000 acre Lake, Northeast of Atlanta (when the crazies leave the Lake)
when we bought this home 17 years ago, I stated "we would retire here" and we did, now four years into becoming funemployed...
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Old 06-12-2019, 10:25 AM   #55
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Originally Posted by ERD50 View Post
After retiring, I realized that many of the activities I thought I'd want to do more of were just stress busters. And w/o the stress of work, they weren't all that appealing anymore.

But I found more than enough other things I love to do instead, and still do some of the things I did when working. It all works out, but it is different than I imagined.

-ERD50
+1. We owned a boat for several years and enjoyed it, but it was a pain...at times a HUGE PAIN. Initially it was towing it back and forth to the lake but in the last few years, had a slip that made it easier. Was happy to sell the boat (in 2012) and have only rented a pontoon a couple of times.

Flying is another thing that I *really* used to enjoy...owning my own airplane was a goal for a long time and I was happy to have been able to do it. But, that too was sold in 2013 when it became too expensive (much more expensive to own an airplane in the Atlanta area compared to San Antonio, TX!). I haven't flown a plane since and honestly, I don't miss it. I think that is because it was a fantastic stress reliever when I was w*rking.

These days, I absolutely *love* hanging around the house and doing small projects or working in the yard. Now that we have a pool, there just isn't too much of a reason to leave our small paradise. Over the last couple of months, I average leaving the house about once a week and I wouldn't have it any other way!
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Old 06-12-2019, 11:07 AM   #56
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I got back into flying after I retired, flying for both Angel Flight and Pilots n Paws.. The novelty wore off after a while, and I am doing a lot less flying this year. The other factor is I just turned 81, so I am concerned about diminishing skills.
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Old 06-12-2019, 11:39 AM   #57
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With under three years to go I am heartened, and disheartenend to hear this but probably understand why. Early on in this post I saw that when someone did something all the time they found it to be more like "work" than anything else and lost interest, but doing it occasionally one was more happy in doing the activity. So I have at least 6 items planned for retirement that I can rotate through on a daily basis so that one or two do not become "work".
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Old 06-12-2019, 12:09 PM   #58
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I got back into flying after I retired, flying for both Angel Flight and Pilots n Paws.. The novelty wore off after a while, and I am doing a lot less flying this year. The other factor is I just turned 81, so I am concerned about diminishing skills.
I will admit that I miss doing the Pilots n' Paws flights; I really enjoyed doing those.

Good on you for still flying at 81. A few years ago, I took my Dad up (he was 89 at the time) and while he flew many, MANY years ago (actually used to commute w/ a plane...how cool, right?) he hadn't put his hand on a yoke in a very long time. Wouldn't you know it, that he flew great? After a couple times around the windsock "shadowing" my landings, he took a couple on his own and showed me HOW it should be done. To this day, it's one of my favorite memories. Man...I sure miss him.
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Old 06-12-2019, 02:49 PM   #59
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My goals and passions have changed as well after retiring. It's funny that you think you would be the same as after retirement than before. I believe it is a normal thing to adapt and change as your environment has changed also. My passion for the outdoors has intensified beyond what I ever thought it would be when I was working. I now have the time to pursue those passions that I never got to follow because of work. It is good to be flexible and change goals as you go through life. For me these past five years, (retired with the Class of 2014), have been the best years of my life.
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Old 06-12-2019, 03:12 PM   #60
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When I was in college, I rode a small motorcycle. Aftter riding a friend's BMW, I wanted one.

Fast foreward 50 years. I found a beautiful classic BMW R90/6 nearby for a good price. I took a riding class and flunked the practical. My skills were lost to the point of danger. If I cannot get them back, it must go. Not giving up yet, and I may just tinker with it for a while.
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