After FIRE, facing the fading of *some* dreams

[W2R]

Thank you. That's good advice.

Here I am a week from retirement, and I have cow*rkers putting pressure on me to come up with some "retirement career" or something. It isn't good enough to say, "I'm going to downshift, sleep in, do volunteer work, explore my hobbies, explore more exercise options... as I see fit."

Nope. Not good enough for them. Gotta have an exact plan. "You'll be bored out of your mind." "Don't worry, you'll be back."

Blah, blah, blah.

Before I retired, I was asked by not one, not two, but THREE levels of management if I would take a consulting job with our agency. They dangled goodies in front of me... part time, telecommuting, higher pay, whatever I wanted. Each time I looked them in the eye and responded, dead seriously: "There is not enough money in this agency's entire budget to pay what I would require for consulting work".

My co-workers all said I would get bored and I'd be back in a New York minute. I said, "Watch me. Not gonna happen."

I think that part of the problem is that their entire understanding of who we are, is based on our role at work because that is all they ever see. Just write that off as the babbling of rigid minds, and don't take it seriously unless/until you find that you are bored. Personally I really haven't been anywhere near as bored in retirement, as I was at work.

 

[Rianne]

I borrowed my dream from another who actually made her dream come true. She built a 25 acre dog park with a pond much like a swimming pool but had a beach around it for the dog owners to gather and chat. She put an incredible agility course to keep the dogs active and thinking. There is a clubhouse with 3 grooming/baths and provided towels, blow dryers, nail clippers a washer/dryer and sinks. $10. Every dog had to have papers that proved all their shots and they had to pass a personality test to be allowed to join. The entire doggy country club cost $1/day and you could pay 3 months at a time.


When I win the lottery, this is my dream.

Meadow Run Park - Pictures of Meadow Run Park

 

[Rianne]

This is the better link, click on pictures of the park if interested.



Meadow Run Park - Home

 

[braumeister]

He got a concerned look on his face, leaned close to me and said very seriously, "You need to keep working at something or you'll be dead in less than 10 years."

When I was just a 2nd Lt., I read an article (I've never been able to find it since then) that looked at retired 4-star general officers from all services. It showed that their average lifespan after retirement was less than three years.

That made a deep impression on me, as it seemed to show that if you let your work become your life, then when your job ended your life would soon follow.

My reaction was to always have several hobbies that I enjoyed and could maintain for many years, if not for life. Now that I've been retired for nearly 17 years, that approach seems to have done me some good.

 

[Accidental Retiree]

This is the better link, click on pictures of the park if interested.



Meadow Run Park - Home

That place is amazing.

 

[aja8888]

I borrowed my dream from another who actually made her dream come true. She built a 25 acre dog park with a pond much like a swimming pool but had a beach around it for the dog owners to gather and chat. She put an incredible agility course to keep the dogs active and thinking. There is a clubhouse with 3 grooming/baths and provided towels, blow dryers, nail clippers a washer/dryer and sinks. $10. Every dog had to have papers that proved all their shots and they had to pass a personality test to be allowed to join. The entire doggy country club cost $1/day and you could pay 3 months at a time.


When I win the lottery, this is my dream.

Meadow Run Park - Pictures of Meadow Run*Park

Our DD, who is a professional dog groomer, would love to do something like this! Beautiful!!

 

[meleana]

I have been camping countless times since I was in the Boy Scouts. I enjoyed it immensely, but times changed, children grew older, we got into other activities, and fewer camping opportunities arose.

One day I made an impulse buy and picked up an inexpensive fire pot on the clearance rack at Target. I set that baby up, tossed some logs in it, and voila! Wife and teenagers all drifted outside to share in the smoky, crackling wonder that is fire; a magical moment indeed.

It was then that I understood that what I liked most about camping was the evening campfire. We could melt smores, share anecdotes, poke at the coals, etc., just the same as if we had slogged miles out into the trackless wilderness.

Best of all, we still had ready access to flush toilets, hot showers and our own beds! It's camping without all the dirt and bugs and waking up to find that an undetected tree root had made a permanent dent in your spine.

So get yourself a fire pot and see if it doesn't convince you that, instead of your camping dreams being unreachable, you've actually improved upon them!

I never understood the allure of camping and the work it entails. Though we love to be outdoors, it is great to come into an air conditioned home with toilets and beds. That is why when we vacation, we go to natural areas, but we stay at our timeshare resorts in those areas. Best of both worlds.

 

[brett]

We have been grounded since March because of a medical issue. Had to cancel one trip (hooray for credit card cancellation insurance) and could not really plan anything since that time. Fortunately it appears that the issue is resolved and we are now back to planning travel and getting travel books from the library.

This has given us a bit of an awakening about future unexpected curve balls in life. I suspect that we will looking long and hard at our bucket list with the realization that now is the time to do it whilst we have the health, the resources, and the inclination to do it.

 

[cyber888]

How about Living the Dream before FIRE. I already Lived the Dream .. so when I FIRE soon.. the dreams are etched in memory and wont fade 1) Traveled 30 countries - done. 2) Build a Log Home with panoramic views - done. 3) Buy Audi and BMW Fast Sports cars - done. My dream of a stress free life will be done soon as well with FIRE [emoji16]

 

[kcowan]

During employment, we dreamed of peaceful places to retire to. When we were actually RE, we decided that peaceful was no longer desirable and sought out active places.

We enjoyed cars and clothes and jewelry during working life. Now we prefer minimal approaches. I have even developed an appreciation for local transit. Getting on a bus and getting off wherever it looks interesting without the hassle of parking or returning to the parked car is highly desirable. The result is I have become the resident expert for interesting destinations.

 

[brett]

^+1.

We are now slow travelers. Not terribly interested in an overnight or a weekend somewhere. Usually it is at least three days, more often a week or two, sometimes more. Local transit, and we prefer locally owned lodging and avoid tourist oriented restaurants. A friend was going on about visiting some bar in Europe that caters to tourists, movie stars, and North Americans. Cocktails are 15E. We cannot imagine spending even 10 minutes in a place like that when there are so many other things to do and sights to see in a place like Venice or Paris.

We spend very little time shopping for things that we used to. It has been replaced by shopping for destinations or trips. We have two in the active planning process now, with a third just about there.

We got rid of a lot of our 'stuff' a few years ago and have no desire to start buying again. Waste of time for us. We are much more interested in experiences than we are in things. Besides, our children have made it clear that they have no interest in 'treasures' and that include the heirloom ornaments etc.

We intend to keep traveling until we end up in rocking chairs or in the glue factory. Life is short.....it is up to each of us to make the best of it in our own way. After all, isn't that why we worked so hard during our careers? You really do need to get off the chair and make your own memories and fulfill your own dreams whatever they may be.

 

[deserat]

This is the better link, click on pictures of the park if interested.



Meadow Run Park - Home

I'd like something like that for me!!!!! Fun running around to maintain my agility, socializing with the others, grooming services, food...

Actually, pretty amazing and the membership pictures of all the dogs are awesome

 

[Fedup]

Fading the dream is to garden intensely like I did before. It was my absolute passion, I couldnt wait to get up every morning to check on my plants. Now I’m just ho him about it.

I have not done any camping lately, although I absolutely loved it before. My husband who was and Eagle Scout in England refused to camp anymore. Now we camp on some version of Airbnb. I’m wondering if I can still get up from sleeping on the floor any more. I have a bit of knee and hip problem.

 

[Souschef]

As one or more of the posters here has said, a lot of the dreams were fulfilled before RE.
Rode nuclear submarines Done
Got pilots license,commercial and instrument ratings Don
Traveled to all 7 continents Done
Traveled to all 24 time zones Done

After my wife of 30 years passed away, I was blessed to find a wonderful companion
Then I retired

We will be celebrating our 11th anniversary with a cruise to Hawaii
I am one of the 3 here out of over 400 poll respondents that was born before 1940