Thinning down the herd .

[mmcmdl]

uh, if you retired at the beginning of the month, you aren't even a week in... Not a few weeks... but don't worry, you'll make it... It's tough to adjust at first, but it gets MUCH better once you come to terms with it. You do a little every day..

4 weeks in with my acrued time off WC . Burned my vacation time and sick time . I got my first SS check the first of the month . Everyday , I have been cleaning up both houses and the yards . Logs are just about gone from the yard , and if you never saw pics , this was not an easy chore . 4 foot diameter logs are not fun to play with at my age , let alone the sheriffs dept and DOH stopping by the house . I had a somewhat large fire , under control , but my biggest by far that lasted 6 days . To bad metal doesn't burn , but I melted plenty of aluminum in those 6 days . So I go to work tomorrow to meet my boss and the HR manager . When my issues are done , I can and am willing to work until the SS threshhold is met at $23,000 a year . After that , my company will start back up and I'll draw a small salary out of the company business . If all goes to plan , great , if not , doesn't concern me in the least . Ive got a son moving to Calgary from Toronto and 45 acers of woods in the Adirondacks to keep me busy . I do miss my work , my co-workers but not the job and headaches that go along with it .

 

[RaisedByWolves]

How fortunate you are to enjoy what you do for a living.
I am one of those who went to work for a pay check. My passion was not where I spent my week days.
It's the daily grind that I just couldn't do anymore.
I went out at 65. Never looked back. Been smiling ever since.

Been in this job for 37 yrs and counting, it was mostly not fun or rewarding at all. In fact I’ve wanted to quit more times than I have been fired.(Union shop in a small city, Don’t ask).

As you, I did it for the pay and things really only turned around for me about 6 yrs ago.

Finally got on day shift after decades of being the low man(youngest guy in the shop) and I with my skill set (Jack of all with Toolmaker papers) I was kind of the odd man out.

I fell in with the engineering department due to varied skills and problem solving abilities and my whole world changed.

Changed so much for the better the young guys are jealous and carping about the work assignments.

Funny, they all want my work until I’m slammed then no one wants to help. This after they all got a bad rep with engineering for not wanting to put out or take this stuff as a priority.

Sucks to be them.

 

[BGHansen]

I have to say , looking forward to retirement was a dream but now it kinda sucks . I miss working already after a few weeks .

Ditto here after I retired in February 2022. . . for a couple of months. But a year later I'm very happy with my retirement routine! I used to get up at 5AM, now around 6:45AM; my body likes the extra sleep. I missed the work routine walking the production floor at the start of the shift to see how things were going on the parts I covered. Didn't miss the work, missed talking to the production folks. Same with my engineering coworkers. But it's like being in 2nd grade and having a best friend classmate. Next year in 3rd grade he/she might not be in your class and you end up with a new best friend. I still converse with some former coworkers, but it's a pretty short list of true friends, not acquaintances.

No rocking chair for me either! Some will say, "I don't have anything to do in retirement". Oh, there's LOTS of stuff to do! It might not be what you want to do, but there's stuff to do! I haven't posted any of my neglected projects around the house since they aren't shop related, but I keep busy. Give it a few, you'll fall into a new routine.

Congrats on getting through your "stuff"; you are doing your heirs a great service! My dad passed away in 2019, mom in 2022. My wife and I spent 2-3 days a week for 9 months going through my parent's 58 years of "stuff" in their main house. For example, my dad was an instrument rated private pilot. He had airport charts from Jeppesen that listed the various airport radio frequencies and described the approaches to the airport under instrument flying conditions. Airports occasionally change frequencies, add different approaches, etc. I recall my dad getting an envelope of new approach plates; he'd sit at the dining room table updating his Jeppesen's. I never paid attention to what he did with the old out-of-date approach plates; they were as relevant as an out-of-date phone book. Well, I found them in a closet in my old bedroom. Two bankers boxes of old approach plates from 1972-2004. My assumption is they were worthless, so into the trash they went. My heirs have no idea what an Interapid DTI is, there are 4 or 5 in my shop; I could see them dumping them in the trash! One of my retirement projects is inventorying things of value in my shop so if I don't part with it, they'll at least know the value of what they are chucking. That'll keep me busy for a while!

Bruce

 

[Boswell]

But it's like being in 2nd grade and having a best friend classmate. Next year in 3rd grade he/she might not be in your class and you end up with a new best friend. I still converse with some former coworkers, but it's a pretty short list of true friends, not acquaintances.

Bruce, I could not have said it better. I was close with my work friends, some of them I worked with for 20 years. 2 years into retirement I don't miss them as much as I expected and only get together with one of them and a few emails per year with others. Other friends and activities have taken their place and I have no regrets. For many years I lead an IT crisis management team. I can absolutely assure you that I do not, in any way, miss the all-nighters.

 

[56pan]

HAHA, I was good at what I did, but don't miss it at all, 40 years of memories I don't want.

I was good at what I did also. 47 yrs., airline mech. Retired in '14 and don't even want the S.O.B.'s flying over my little farm.

 

[homebrewed]

I'm 6 1/2 years into retirement, left the job in October. Later that winter part of the old barn collapsed due to structural problems and an abnormally heavy snowfall. That became an "interesting" job because I decided to rehab the barn myself. As in, solo. I came with a bunch of approaches to do things like building and installing temporary supports, raising 12 foot long 4x4's for a replacement rim joist, etc. While doing it safely. That has turned into a kind of theme for doing stuff around the place. All KINDS of things. Pretty much mirroring my handle.

At present I have plenty of projects to keep me busy. Summertime into early fall, the garden dominates then other things kick in. Witness the "needing more than a spark test" mega thread. Rest time involves contemplating what I've done and thinking about what I want to do next.