Retirement Thoughts

I’ve been thinking about the blessings of retirement lately.  I read about people needing to work longer and then only barely scraping by and am so thankful that I had the education I needed to pursue a professional career that paid well. I was a hospital pharmacist and I loved it. It was interesting and challenging and I worked at a world renowned teaching hospital.  But by age 65, my body just couldn’t hold up to the stress of a long commute, a job where a mistake could mean someone’s life, and the usual pressure of home work.  Since I had no debts and a nice 403b, I was able to retire.  And it has, as they say, “exceeded expectations.”

It is such a relief not to have to leap out of bed, into the shower, and out the door.  Waking up slowly is an incomparable blessing. Then there is not having to deal with traffic and bad weather and wrecks on the freeway. 

Another blessing is being able to do my shopping and errands during the day when it is less crowded.   Lunch out during the week is less crowded and less expensive.  

Then there is time to read and quilt, time to go birding or butterflying, time to travel, time to take a nap.  

I had thought that maybe I would be bored or lonely once I retired but that has not been the case at all.  I love life in the slow lane.