Change is the spice of life,
or something like that. Change keeps us engaged, involved, moving, active. Hopefully
most of life’s transitions result in positive developments.
A major change in hub’s life
began January 1st. He is (about) 90% retired, working three to four
days a month.
He will now be home. A lot.
With lots of time on his hands.
Oy.
So I am creating a list, in
no particular order, of –
10 Things For Hub to
Do When Retired
Year One
Additional suggestions welcomed
1. Complete a honey-do list. Never before attempted, I am writing one now, hoping
a series of odds-and-ends-tasks-around-the-house occupies quite a bit of time
over the next couple of months. This will not be a growing list, but items not
attended to over the past few months years… for instance installing
curtains in the guest room purchased months ago and hanging pictures patiently
awaiting an honored place on the wall.
2. Exercise.
Everyday would be ideal, but four days a week an accessible goal. Walking
outside counts. Walking to the refrigerator to retrieve a snack does not.
3. Clean the garage. A warm weather activity eating up a lot of time organizing, throwing
out stuff, replacing broken needed things, giving useable unneeded items away. I
cannot wait to see what treasures will be revealed.
4. Clear out business office. Clean up, get rid of, and empty, creating
much-needed space. Hub rarely worked in his office anyway.
5. Build a climbing garden wall in our backyard vegetable patch. Hub is not
traditionally an outdoor guy, born and raised in the concrete Bronx where weeds
were considered exotic vegetation, but retirement offers the opportunity to try
new things and learn new skills.
6. Plan trips.
Lots of time consumed surfing the web.
7. Figure out how to binge watch TV series, then watch the shows. Especially ones I have no
interest in viewing.
8. Find buddies to meet regularly for Romeo get-togethers (Retired Old Men Eating Out).
9. Play golf.
Isn’t that what countless retirees do? Hub
has a set of rusting clubs somewhere.
10. Work very hard to NOT create messes clutter
chaos resulting in the need for
additional cleaning time. I already get exhausted spending approximately ten
minutes a day on housework.
I think housework (a dreadful
sounding word) should be the first thing to go when reaching the magic age when
retirement becomes a full-time pursuit. But
I digress…
Meanwhile – before beginning
any of the above-mentioned activities - hub and I are on the road for a few
days celebrating his new stage in life.
Mike retired a year before I did but he did not need me to make a list for him. He managed to keep himself quite busy and entertained. He convinced me that retirement was in my immediate future and I have not regretted a second.
ReplyDeleteChin up. Many have retired, and most have survived it.
ReplyDeleteI don't want to cause trouble, but if housework is the first thing to go, shouldn't the second, third and fourth things be: the honey-do list, cleaning the garage, and clearing out the office?
ReplyDeleteYou know my story. Mazel tov to Hub. Best wishes to you.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to learning how retirement sits on your hubby and also in your world. I sure do enjoy it, and sometimes I wonder how I managed to fit a work life into my busy schedule. :-)
ReplyDeleteOnly just found your blog - I hopped over from Gwens .......but loved reading this post. I'll definitely be back to read more.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year Wishes sorry they are 10 days late but never mind.
All the best Jan
Oy is right. Good luck! My husband completed very few of his honey dos over the two years he retired before I did. Now that I'm retired, he has recruited me into his chores. I wanted the two years "off" that he got but no such luck.
ReplyDeleteGood luck. David's been retired since 1894 and he still hasn't cleaned his workshop. The last time I tried it I found dead mice.
ReplyDelete