Just got my papers through for my retirement…
Age, health, time to do something better.
So, many of our members are similar ages, already done it, coming up to it, miles away…
Comments on the future with all this free time and no restrictions.
Just for info, i will continue contributions here, still work on linux boxes, repair things just not officially
Congratulations! I hope you enjoy a long, healthy retirement.
Do you golf? That’s something I’ll do more of once I retire.
According to my father:
Most people think, they’re going to have a lot of time after retirement.
The opposite is true, never seen tasks appear, never seen ideas will born, what to do, neighbours and friends who hesitated to ask for help so far, now do ask for help quite freely, as they think you have a lot of time, as you retired…
So, prepare to be even more busy than you were before the retirement! 
Congrats!
From a health point of view, do something that is a physical challenge, watch your weight, and you need continuous mental stimulation.
We retired and moved to a farm . Never worked so hard in my life, but definitely healthier… I can still shear sheep at 79. Dont know for how much longer.
You need to feel like you belong somewhere. Your community involvement maybe?
It is amazing how many new technical challenges you can handle with that extra free time. Retirement can be more interesting than work… the no-pressure situation seems to be more productive for me.
Can I wish you well with this new phase.
Welcome! Remember, today is Saturday, and so is tomorrow!
I found a senior golf club that plays during the week, mostly 9 hole rounds, all at 100% handicaps. Maximum wager is $2US, max payout is $4. Being competitive at 70+ and spending time with congenial folks seems to add years to the lives of our members. I highly recommend it, Paul.
That is what I meant by a feeling of belonging somewhere.
The thing i am looking forward to which has been driving me crazy is not needed to do mindless form filling and the demands of running a business just to click a few boxes. Clients who want detailed invoices, taxman who want paperwork, goverment departments who want regular returns.
I actually stopped working for companies some 18 years ago as fed up with meetings, going just from one to another with no time to implement decisions made.
Hence starting working for myself, originally to repair computers and get my hands dirty, that developed into web site creation as i could work from home. But after moving returned to repairs and systems.
I already take a very active part in our community life, doing sound and lighting systems for all the shows in our village so technically challenging.
Plus I take part in the gym arobics classes, aqua gym. I teach stand up paddleboarding. Swim every day pool and sea. So physical activities well covered.
Not sure how we manage but spend 10 weeks a year on holiday going to different places, trying to catch up on the covid year where travel just about stopped.
What is really funny, i asked for my pension from two of the french government departments, strange system i dont understand, one said 60 euros per year, the other said 4 euros… I wait for the results.
My response? Retirement’s the start of a new adventure, or it should be. All that depends on how you approach it. If you’re being forced into retirement due to law, or company regulations, you may need to adjust your attitude before you can really enjoy the new-found freedom you’ve earned. On the other hand, if retirement’s your choice, you should be all set, attitude-wise. With all this said, congratulations on earning your new-found personal freedom to do whatever your heart desires.
I’ve been retired since 2010, when I took early retirement to care for my ailing wife. Since then, the one thing that has surprised me is that I’ve been busier than I ever was while working. As I approach a decade-and-a-half in retirement, I’m now only as busy as I want to be, because I’ve learned that I can have as much time as I want to complete most projects, and how to differentiate/prioritize between my chosen projects, and the ones that must be completed to satisfy governmental regulations, etc.
I suggest you start slow. Take care of business first (making sure you satisfy governmental regulations, etc. on time), then by doing whatever you love. If I understand correctly, you spent much of your life providing IT/Tech support for companies/corporations. Now maybe you can do something similar for people, or use your knowledge/experience in support of which-ever distribution you prefer, or something similar.
No matter what you do, make sure it makes you happy, first and foremost. This is your time, and you have the power to make it whatever you want. If the first thing you try doesn’t work for you, move on to something else. The most important thing to understand now, is that you’re in charge of your time. If nothing else, enjoy that.
Ernie
That happened to me too.
There is a sense the things I choose to do being more personally meaningful. As @callpaul.eu says
Retirement should be a more personally meaningful time. Learn to let things go… other better things are waiting.
That was a great choice Ernie.
We took early retirement, then ran into health issues, and I now have had to retire from our retirement farming activity to take a caring role.
That change has just opened new doors.
I’m sorry to hear that.
That’s good to know.
My wife passed away in 2019, but I know that my decision enriched her last nine years, and by making the choices I have, I now have no regrets. Even though she’s gone, I still hold her in my heart, and that helps,
Ernie
Sorry to hear about family related health problems causing big changes for you.
With my first wife, she had a illness which required tge removal of her stomach, then 6 months later she had her first heart attack, whilst we were on holiday 700 miles away from home and family, 4 months later a further but this time fatal heart attack which left me looking after my 2 daughters who were still at school.
These things change your outlook on life and you either sink or swim, luckly for me I am a fish (or a shark).
Finding happiness with my second wife, who 10 years later wanted a divorce, next girlfriend died of cancer. Now on to my 3rd wife… hopefully she will out live me.
When i had a real job, working for a hospital, there was so much talk about work life balance… they offered relaxation courses, you go into a room and relax, i did offer to teach that course instead of computing, but they said no !
My wife has a house she rents out to a long term guy.
She said last week, as you have now retired, you can do a few jobs in that house. So 6 hour drive later we arrived. I have now completed the little jobs. I blocked a chimney, installed roof insulation throughout, took down 3 walls, tiled a bathroom, installed 3 electric heaters, thermal curtains and partial wall build. working all week from 8 till 8, … if this is retirement I am going back to work for myself its less physical.
You have all the skills, keep active… the alternative is rapid physical decline.
I love that paragraph, Ernie.
“It is in giving that we receive”
My wife has a spinal disability caused by radiation treatment. She needs a lot of help . It is part of my life now.
Caring for her will enrich your life, and teach you to appreciate everything you encounter in ways you can’t imagine, at least, that’s what happened for me.
Charla was my first and only wife. I waited until I met someone with whom I couldn’t imagine living without, before asking her to marry me. We were married two days short of forty-five years when she passed. I don’t regret a day of being married to her. When I met her, a friend of mine was introducing me to another girl, but we became friends, and the other girl and I grew apart after a time. Simultaneously, the friendship between Char and I grew into a blossoming love, and a life spent together. We were partners in our marriage. At first, I had to pressure her to speak her mind, then, later, when we disagreed on something, she used to tell me that I’d created that monster she’d become, by making her speak her mind. I never considered her behavior as anything like monstrous, but only as a passionate expression of what she believed. When I think back on those occasions, I smile.
Ernie
Well written @ernie ,
It is amazing how 2 people can click together.
Di is my only wife too. We will be 55 years next year.
At your ages, you both understand most of what I have to say here. I hope you both have many more years together. My wife would have been 65 the year she passed away. I was 24 when we married, and she was 19.
Ernie
Feels comfortable here. Betsy and I celebrated 55 years last month.
Sorry, I meant 55 years married… I am 79 years old.
In that case, you probably understand everything I’ve been saying, being four years my senior, and having been married about a decade longer. Marrying Char allowed me to evolve into the man I’ve grown to become. When we met, I was something of a man-child. She helped me outgrow that. I’ll be eternally grateful that she put up with me when we first married. It took me a while to learn how to be her husband.
Ernie
Women marry men because they are perfect, then spend all their lives to educate, train and improve them… so the saying goes.
My first wife taught me how to share and show love, something i had never had. Which I thank her for, my second wife taught me travel and holiday plus took me out of my rut in the uk of 9 to 5 work to live in another country. My current wife is teaching me french not just the language.
Dont think I will live long enough to compete with your marriage records, but hope 3rd time lucky We can work together towards these numbers.
You dont believe, you get less for murder ! Joke.