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Tree-dweller · 01-09-2012, 07:40 AM

I was saying to my wife yesterday that, since retiring 5 weeks ago, it still feels more like I'm on an extended vacation rather than what it really is. How long after ER did it sink in for you, and was there anything that triggered that change in how you felt?

Oddjobdth · 01-09-2012, 08:06 AM

5 weeks is turely an extended vacation. I've been retired for 10 months now and expect any day to have to get up and go to work.... NOT.... In my situation I was easeing out 4 months prior to my last day. Plus I had a company vehicle, and had to wear/ carry company equipment on me all the time. A month before my last day my DW started chemo for breast cancer and she became my fulltime job since. Some say I was preparing for retirement 5 years ago, when I got my last assignment. All is good and one day it will dawn on you that you are not going back to work.

fwest · 01-09-2012, 08:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tree-dweller

I was saying to my wife yesterday that, since retiring 5 weeks ago, it still feels more like I'm on an extended vacation rather than what it really is. How long after ER did it sink in for you, and was there anything that triggered that change in how you felt?

keep me posted. Im retiring from a 28 year carreer in law enforcement in 45 days. Im looking forward to the new chapter as much as my high school grauduation just because of the feeling you described, still doesnt seem real......

**MichaelB** · 01-09-2012, 08:39 AM

It took me a couple of years, but that is because when I quit my job it was just to take some time off. Adjusting to the routine of not working was easy. Convincing myself about the FI part was more challenging, especially after pretty severe portfolio damage in '01 & '02. Soon after that, when we started to think about moving, it dawned on me that I had made the decision not to go back.

REWahoo · 01-09-2012, 08:49 AM

It took many months after retiring to get the big grin off my face. The initial "I never have to go to w*rk again!" giddiness gradually gave way to a relaxed level of satisfaction whenever I thought about the fact "I never have to go to w*rk again!"

omni550 · 01-09-2012, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo

It took many months after retiring to get the big grin off my face. The initial "I never have to go to w*rk again!" giddiness gradually gave way to a relaxed level of satisfaction whenever I thought about the fact "I never have to go to w*rk again!"

+1

W2R · 01-09-2012, 11:11 AM

I have been retired for 26 months as of today, and I still have that goofy smile on my face each day!

I have had maybe 1-2 bad days since retirement and the rest has been like a wonderful, endless vacation.

Over the first year we developed a nice routine, because it just feels right to have one. We sleep late, go to the gym together on MWF, and on every day we eat lunch together, run errands together, and spend the afternoon together. Then in the evening I return home and read, do laundry, play video games, watch TV, and whatever else I might want to do. That's my routine. In the evenings he gets on his ham radio, looks at the stars with his telescopes if it isn't cloudy, reads, or whatever else he might want to do.

So far I haven't been bored even though my co-workers told me I would be, for sure. I live just a mile and a half from my former w*rkplace, and when we drive by I smile and thank heavens that I was able to retire when I did. I guess I stsill have that "I never have to go to work again" giddiness.

Dawg52 · 01-09-2012, 11:24 AM

Almost 5 years in the books and it seems like maybe two. Not walking around with a big grin on my face anymore, but quite often I tell a fellow retiree how lucky we are to be out of the rat race. A bad round of golf beats the hell out of a work day.

donheff · 01-09-2012, 12:52 PM

7 years a few days ago and I still react that way. Especially now with cold miserable mornings.

KiraC · 01-09-2012, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by donheff

Especially now with cold miserable mornings.

This is my favorite perk. I can look out the window and watch the weather on bad days. I'm just starting month 4 and still loving it!

Enjoy!

kz · 01-09-2012, 03:22 PM

The longer I've been retired (and it's been a LONG time) the giddier I get.

Seriously!!

Nords · 01-09-2012, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tree-dweller

I was saying to my wife yesterday that, since retiring 5 weeks ago, it still feels more like I'm on an extended vacation rather than what it really is. How long after ER did it sink in for you, and was there anything that triggered that change in how you felt?

Nearly 10 years, and the thrill is still as strong.

Every so often we screw up and end up navigating rush hour traffic, which (after it's over) simply renews the thrill of "I don't have to go to work!!"

My spouse also recently took a "short-term" job (http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...eck-59048.html). This allows me to refresh my memory with in-depth field studies of the dreaded Sunday Night Syndrome, "Midwatch E-mail", "So how was your day, dear?", and other phenomena...

RAE · 01-09-2012, 06:35 PM

I've been retired for two years now, and I was just telling my wife last evening how FANTASTIC it was to be able to relax on a sunday evening, watching the football games and having a couple beers, reading, staying up as late as I want.....and not thinking at all about what I had to get up and do early on monday morning. It may sound like a small thing, but for 31 years, sunday evening was basically dominated by thoughts of the coming work week......what I had to do, where I had to go, clothes to get ready, food to get ready for lunches/dinners, whether I had any after-work commitments to rush off to that week, etc, etc.. To be able to erase all of that stuff from my mind on sunday evening and just relax and enjoy the evening is.....well, it's priceless.

flyfishnevada · 01-09-2012, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo

It took many months after retiring to get the big grin off my face. The initial "I never have to go to w*rk again!" giddiness gradually gave way to a relaxed level of satisfaction whenever I thought about the fact "I never have to go to w*rk again!"

Perfect!

Quote:

Originally Posted by RAE

I've been retired for two years now, and I was just telling my wife last evening how FANTASTIC it was to be able to relax on a sunday evening, watching the football games and having a couple beers, reading, staying up as late as I want.....and not thinking at all about what I had to get up and do early on monday morning. It may sound like a small thing, but for 31 years, sunday evening was basically dominated by thoughts of the coming work week......what I had to do, where I had to go, clothes to get ready, food to get ready for lunches/dinners, whether I had any after-work commitments to rush off to that week, etc, etc.. To be able to erase all of that stuff from my mind on sunday evening and just relax and enjoy the evening is.....well, it's priceless.

Yes, love this too. I don't walk around with a goofy smile, but if someone asks how retirement is it comes right back. I don't think it ever wears off. It just kind of fades into a nice contented smirk.

obgyn65 · 01-09-2012, 07:24 PM

I envy you, W2R !

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R

I have been retired for 26 months as of today, and I still have that goofy smile on my face each day!

Tree-dweller · 01-10-2012, 07:05 AM

Thanks all. Good to know I have (hopefully) many years of bleep-eating grins ahead of me. Even my DW was smiling as I brushed the snow off the car this morning so she could drive to the job she still likes!

Brdofpray · 01-15-2012, 04:29 PM

I was somewhat worried heading into retirement. My dad entered into depression when he retired. I thought that after 30 years of pouring myself into my career, I would feel a similar let down when I stopped. Perhaps it was good preparation, perhaps it was a new, young boss that made my last years less than rewarding, in any case when I left, I never looked back. Now after 28 months, when we spend a weekday hiking in the mountains, we smile to ourselves, and wonder what we were ever worried about.

Coolius · 01-15-2012, 08:08 PM

I officially retired 10 months ago. And the thrill is still with me.

Especially on cold, wet Monday mornings, when I sit with my cup of coffee, and simply watch the rain and fog outside, knowing I don't have to go out in that muck.

It will get even better, I know, when Spring comes and the warmth begins. That will be when I start going for walks around the neighborhood to look at the wild flowers.

okbeachmouse · 01-29-2012, 08:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tree-dweller

I was saying to my wife yesterday that, since retiring 5 weeks ago, it still feels more like I'm on an extended vacation rather than what it really is. How long after ER did it sink in for you, and was there anything that triggered that change in how you felt?

I know how you feel, DH and I are about five weeks in and I too feel like I am on a permanent vacation..... isn't it awesome?!

We moved when we retired to a place where we did vacation, so I remember well the times when we would be here for a week and I would start to get tense and depressed as the time was coming to an end. I would dread going back to the cold mid-west and the stress filled life we were living. Now there is no dread of this ending. It almost feels to good to be true!