My turn has finally arrived

[Gere Flewelling]

After working the last 45 years fixing vehicles and equipment for others, it is my turn to try out the retirement thing.  My wife retired in April and is enjoying it very much.  We decided that I should join her at this time.  Been working at the ski area for the last 17 years chasing broken snow cats on steep mountain terrain as well as other support equipment that only seems to break down on the steep snow and ice.  I'm not complaining, it just that the mountain seems to have gotten a little steeper these last few years and it seems to take much longer to heal up  :D these days.  Work better suited for young guys.  Plus since I purchased a saw mill a few years ago, work is always interfering with my hobby.  Now Lord willing I can spend more quality time with the wonderful woman who has put up with me all these years and pursue the passion this sawdust addiction has created.  I am excited to be joining the ranks of many of you on this forum. 8) 

[taylorsmissbeehaven]

Congratulations!! That is an exciting new adventure in life. I hope you both enjoy every minute of it, Brian

[Jeff]

Enjoy!

[Magicman]

Congratulations !!!  I will look forward to reading about your retirement adventures. 

[olcowhand]

Congrats!
Enjoy it. I don't know how I ever got anything done when I was working.
Steve

[kelLOGg]

Welcome to "retirement", Gere. I did it 12 years ago - took 20 minutes to adjust and now I spend more of my time on sawmilling related stuff. Wish you the same enjoyment.

[K-Guy]

Congratulations!! I hope you enjoy it.

[moodnacreek]

Be careful, you could wind up busier than when working, congratulations.

[YellowHammer]

Before long, you'll have so much going on, you'll wonder how you had enough time to work your old "real" job!  Congratulations.

[kantuckid]

Have fun as you join the ranks of those who plan their own time, or don't. 
As you plan, allow space for things that refresh you and try to avoid overdone days. 
My wife and I have always contended that we really didn't need a "job" to stay busy as we are very self-contained people with many interests. The issue then becomes one of knowing when to kick back.
In retirement "it's (mostly) all about one's health", I wish you both many healthy, active days. I also hope you have family such that your days are never lonely. 

[WV Sawmiller]

   Congrats and I hope you have a great time in retirement. 

   I always said retirement needs to be a case of shifting gears to do what you want to do when you want to do it rather than what you had to to do and when someone else told you to.

[TroyC]

Congratulations! You will find that after retirement, it takes a lot longer to do normal things. Takes me almost all day to mow the yard or change oil in truck! I could do both in an hour before retiring.  ;D

[rusticretreater]

Retirement, where every day is Saturday except when its Sunday.

Congrats!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v8KEbQA8kw

[21incher]

Congratulations.  It's  fun to wake up every morning and say what do I feel like doing today.

[Bert]

Congratulations! That's got to be a good feeling!

[Wlmedley]

Hope you enjoy your retirement.I know I sure have.

[Nebraska]

  congratulations, I hope to have that adventure someday day myself.

[low_48]

I retired 8 years ago. I had 2 years of euphoria, then my Mom started her serious decline due to dementia. It started out pretty easy, just extra trips to her home. Then by 2018 she was gone. The toll it took on me just knocked the sap out of me. I dropped all my plans of making furniture and artistic woodturning stopped. I started riding bicycles to clear my head when I was visiting her in assisted living and then REALLY needed that when she moved to the nursing home and she didn't recognize me any longer. 15,500 miles latter I still ride. It's pure joy riding at 15mph and smelling the air, seeing animals, and just plain relaxing. So my word of advice is don't worry about what you thought you were going to do in retirement, just take life as it comes along and enjoy the ride.

[Walnut Beast]

Time to have some fun and enjoy life!!

[SwampDonkey]

You got'r made now. Lots of sunshine and sawdust ahead.

[thecfarm]

I could enjoy doing that!!!!  ;D

[Gere Flewelling]

Thank you all for the many kind words of encouragement.  I feel quite fortunate to have found this Forum a few years ago.  It has become an important part of my life and daily routine.  I look forward to being an active and contributing member of it for as long as I am able.  I might even get better at posting pictures on it as time goes by .  GF

[Bruno of NH]

Gere,
Congratulations enjoy your Sawing time even more.
Climbing around a ski mountain is tough business. 
I couldn't imagine working on the groomers right on the side of the mountain. 
If you ever get time stop in for a sawmill visit. 
Bruno

[maple flats]

I retired 6.5 years ago. I kept getting up at 5-5:15 for almost 3 months, just out of habit. I finally and gradually slept later, so now I get up between 6-7:30, whenever I wake up.
You will soon find why others have told you they were busier after retiring than before. I never believd it before I retired. Part of it will eventually be because you work slower to get anything done, but that will take a while, it happens slowly.
May your health remain good and don't make the "to do list" too long. I gave up on those lists, they kept getting longer and longer, so I gave up on them. For the most part I now plan for that day, but I do still keep long range plans in my head. Enjoy retirement!

[Spike60]

I'll happily be joining this club come this December. (138 days actually) Looking forward to the change. Not at all worried about finding stuff to do. I already see that "working slower" effect maple flats mentioned. What I used to get done in a day and a 1/2 on the weekend might take the better part of the week now.

People often told me that when it's time to hang it up, I'd know it. Sure enough, that's just what happened. No months and months of wrestling with a decision. Thought about it a few days, and that was it, I'm baggin' it. Surprisingly clear decision too; no second thoughts at all. Only so much sand in life's hourglass, and we can't flip it over either.

Funny part for me is that a lot of people seem to think that owning a business should in some way alter the timeline vs a person that just leaves a job. They seem to think that finding a way to ensure the business continues should precede retirement. And I've seen guys in my shoes do that, sometimes with a sad ending. They burn up the remaining years they have trying to sell the business, and sometimes they never get out until they are wheeled out on a gurney. Be nice if someone takes over the shop, but regardless, I'm out of there at the end of the year.

[woodroe]

Welcome to the retiree's club Gere !
Good luck keeping track of what day of the week it is without having 
to get up and be somewhere at a certain time. 
Like others have said its nice to wake up in the morning and do mostly
whatever you feel like doing. 
Sounds like you've got plenty to keep yourself busy if you feel like being busy.

[jb616]

I thought i would do a search instead of starting a new thread so I thought it appropriate to pull this one back up. So, it's my turn to retire from my "day job" of 44.5 years at an Office Furniture manufacturer. I started at 17 years old when I wasn't allowed to run any machinery and finished out in the Corporate office.  Now I get to play on my 40 where i just had a new house built.  My Sawmill is here along with lots of firewood to split .  I got my buck here this year as well as my turkey. There is also plenty of fishing to do with a handful of really good inland lakes and Lake Michigan within 5 miles. Today is a fine example of what @Magicman would call the glaciated north. 26 degrees and 30mph winds but i have to get out and prep the mill for a 60 "log" cedar job for cabin siding.  Seems nice to wake up and say "what do I want to do today?"     So far it looks like I have plenty to do as I am unpacking all of my rifle / handgun reloading supplies, and will resume the geneology research of my family amongst woodworking projects and putting the finishing touches on the house. Well, the snow is going sideways but it's not getting done by sitting here enjoying the warmth of the stove, so time for some "fresh" air. 

[SawyerTed]

Congratulations!   

Retirement is an art.  It took three failures at it for me to figure out how to be retired.  And yes, success is "waking up and the deciding what to do today."  

[Magicman]

December 16th will mark my 30th anniversary being retired from working for the man. 

It's also ending my 21st year of sawmilling. 

[Ljohnsaw]

Not sure how I missed this the first time around. My last day was June 13, 2013. So I've been retired for 11.5 years next week.

Doing way more now than when I was working and it does take longer to do. Just look at my 5 year cabin project that is on its 11th year 🙄