I spent the first two weeks of retirement with no goals other than to continue gym workouts and walking at least three miles every day. I didn’t set an alarm the first week. I slept in. Some days I didn’t get out of bed until 10 or 11. I stayed up until midnight most nights. I watched a lot of Netflix. I read a book on the pandemic given to me by Cindi, which, was gifted to her at a book fair/literary conference in Santa Fe. I spent time in the garden preparing for the first frost along with the arrival of the initial snow, which, turned out to be an insignificant dusting. The second week I started setting an alarm for 7:30. I found myself turning off the alarm but staying in bed. Most days I slept another hour or so. The week flew by. My days all seemed the same. The only difference was the programs on TV in the evening. I often found myself checking my phone to see what day it was.
At the start of the third week, I decided I needed to do something constructive every day. I started purging my office of work collateral. I returned my work laptop and had lunch with a former colleague. She informed me more layoffs were coming in Europe and Asia as the first round only affected the Americas. After the lunch, I was relieved to be away from the chaos. I threw years of client files and work documents into the recycle bin. I didn’t bother the shred the confidential or proprietary documents. I moved on to purging the closets. I took a load of clothes to Goodwill only to hit the mall the next day to buy new shirts. This week, I’ve been washing windows and cleaning the wood blinds and plantation shutters one room at time. I’m amazed how beautiful fall looked in my garden after the windows were cleaned.
I took my first retirement day trip with my gym pal, Martin. Martin was able to retire early as his late husband left him financially secure. He takes a day trip almost every week. Martin and I drove to Cheyenne, Wyoming for lunch. We had a leisurely, but unremarkable, lunch at a restaurant near the train station. After lunch we took a self-guided tour of the newly renovated capitol. A video presentation described the extensive renovation and preservation of the trompe-l’oeil decorative elements. The accompanying video subtitles spelled out trump loy instead of the correct French spelling. It is a red state after all. I was surprised how small Cheyenne was. There are no tall buildings in the little downtown. The capital is the second tallest building in the state. It was my first visit to Cheyenne. It may very well be my last.
I’m still trying to figure out what this new life will be. I’m in no hurry. I have the rest of my life. I imagine I’ll find something more than workouts and walking to fill my days.
The Corporate Slave 