Travel, becoming empty nesters,
dealing with an aging parent, and aches and pains are all common mid-life
adventures. Most are fun; some are
life-changing. But for us so far,
nothing can compare to our recent experience of retiring.
After coaching clients to and
through retirement for the past 35+ years and writing a book about it, Kathy
and I woke up retired Friday morning, November 3. We gotta say, it feels pretty damn good, and
we’re not bored yet. My office put on a fun
party for us, almost as much fun as our wedding, with over 200 people attending. They also blew us away with THIS SURPRISE VIDEO. A big heartfelt thanks to everyone who attended.
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| The boring part of the video |
We’re humbled and grateful for
everything and everybody that got us to this point, and the reality of
retirement hasn’t sunk in just yet. This wouldn't have been possible without loyal clients, supportive allied professionals, and an amazing team. Our
gratitude is much greater than whatever success we may have had.
The days and weeks leading up to
November 3 were surreal. When you own
your own business, so much of it is intertwined within your personal lives. It’s part of your identity. It takes a lot of
unwinding. As I cleaned out files from
the company hard drive, it was both a liberating and sentimental
experience. “Hey, I won’t need this
anymore.” Or, “Ah yes, I had forgotten
all about that—I wonder who else would care to see this,” and so on. Now, my name is scraped off the door, and I'm perfectly at peace with it.
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| No more me on the window by the door. Feels great! |
Fortunately, we worked part-time the past three years and did so from home. That made the transition easier and gave us a taste of possibilities. We didn’t dislike what we did—in fact, we rather enjoyed our work. But we just didn’t want to be tied down by schedules and commitments. And with my emergency stomach surgery one year ago, we realized just how short life can be.
We’ve been in a euphoric state of
mind since the party, but it has been overshadowed by our disappointment that we
had to cancel our November 7-December 18 Nicaragua-Colombia-Panama trip and our
February Tanzania trip. Kathy’s back has
gotten worse since our return from Morocco.
Some days she can walk a mile, some days barely a city block. The MRI indicates that surgery will be
needed. We’ll know for sure on the 27th.
The good news is that we now have
this big whiteboard of possibilities before us for the next four months and the
chance to learn what retirement is like when we’re not traveling. (Leave it to me to find a pony in a roomful
of manure!). Meanwhile, we’re still in a
peaceful state of mind and savoring each other and each moment of it.
What will I miss?
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| Our fun-loving and amazing team. We will greatly miss them! |
Our clients,
some of whom are so fun and delightful, that I just couldn't believe I got paid
to work with them. I hope I can remain in touch with them. I've had the privilege of knowing some
wonderful human beings over the years. I'll certainly miss the team and former
colleagues and the excitement and belly laughs we had every day. However, with the office just three blocks
from our condo, I'll stop by often.
They're good friends and like family to Kathy and me.
What are our plans?
Our motto
has been: "Always make your future
greater than your past." We
intend to keep living up to it in this next life adventure. We are committed to keeping Salem as our home
base. We have too many friends here
(many of them are clients) to just uproot ourselves. We have big overseas travel plans (some of
which are postponed), and we're going to continue our community involvement.
I'm looking forward to mid-week activities, such as snowboarding, taking
long bike rides, and snagging a campsite on the Metolius River, as well as
daily things like more practice time on my drum set, reading, writing, and
longer workouts. Above all, we're both
looking forward to a slower pace and spontaneity in our travels and daily
routines.
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| One of many fun client gifts! |
