Week 9 Retirement:
What would you do if you retired at an early age or even when you are suppose to? How would you keep busy and active in life when work was not a daily chore?
My grandfather retired at the age of 50 after running an electrical company for almost 30 years straight. He had a well known company throughout our city and surrounding areas. However he was kept so busy for 30 years that he didn't know what to do with himself. He drove my grandmother up the wall with him being bored and always wanting to go out and do stuff that she finally just shoved him outside to do chores out their which then became even more expensive because he started to build and restore old cars to keep himself busy and away from driving my grandmother crazy. Now he's 76 and now almost another 30 years later and 3 great grandchildren later he's still drive my grandmother crazy.
See he came from a family of 12 kids and a stepmother and father who worked very hard to support their family when he was growing up however feeding that many was a challenge. So when he became old enough to start his own company he took the chance however when he retired he didn't have a clue on what to do with all this extra time on his hands. My grandmother however was a stay at home mother of two and she did everything around the house so she was use to being home and not having to go out everywhere. That is when retirement really sunk in for both of them they still find it hard to not go out all the time and they try to keep them selves very busy. Got to love what grandparents mean to us when we are around them as often as we can be...
Where do you think you will be when you retire and become grandparents?
I bet the problem with his retirement was that it was "stop doing the thing that you've always done." When retirement works, it's more of a "start doing something else." Then you're moving towards something, instead of away from something. My folks are retiring this year or next, and they're excited to have more time for hiking, weaving, boating, and so on. I hope when I get to retirement age there are things in my life - other than work - to still be excited about!
ReplyDeleteMy dad retired at 55 after being a police detective for twenty-five years, now he's 71. He too drove my mother crazy for a while but it's gotten better since he's found more and more hobbies that he enjoys and didn't have time to do before.
ReplyDeleteI don't see myself retiring early. When I'm around people i'm happier and more productive. I would like to retire from my real job but maybe continue nursing in undeveloped countries or volunteer here at home. There are so many possibilities!
Its funny to me how many people retire and end up driving their spouse crazy. My grandfather retired. not necessarily by choice, but because he had an injury that affected his work. But he drove my grandma crazy. like you said about your grandpa and his expensive alternative to keep him busy. My grandpa also had an expensive alternative to get his mind off of retiring. He renovated his whole house. doing a different project here and there. They live in a very nice house, he just wanted it to be nicer. So he added a pond here or a flowerbed. Now, their house looks immaculate, and now he is turning to build things to make other peoples houses look great. He doesnt know the meaning to slow down. And thats what i admire about him. I dont really see myself retiring early. I figure im going to school for how ever long, i at least want to have the time to enjoy my career path. I personally, go crazy when i dont have anything to do. If i have too much time off of work, i get ansy to go back.
ReplyDeleteMy Oma and Opa (German for grandma and grandpa) are retired; the moment they left their jobs they went and bought an RV and are not circulating the US. It's funny to me because they knew exactly where they wanted to be, had a 5 and 10 year plan, when they turned 40, and retired by 50. I think it's amazing they still are out doing so many wonderful things with their time and are enjoying life to the fullest.
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