Retirement: mind-boggling process

Now is the time to prepare for retirement. Save for the future. Invest now to have a lucrative retirement. I tire of hearing these come-ons, these bits of advice. So often they come from those who will benefit from your efforts to have enough in retirement. My personal experience is that there is so much more to be concerned about as one prepares for retirement. Oh yes, you will need money but that isn’t the only concern.

I retired more than 3 years ago. Money has not been a problem for me since my wife has continued to work. The emotional, the mental, the social adjustments have been monumental. When will that part of retirement preparation be talked about? Money doesn’t take care of everything.

For many years I was totally involved in social services, mental health and related causes. That’s right they were “causes.” Things that I believed in and from me they received total commitment for all those years. I gave blood, sweat and tears. Then, upon retirement I lost my cause, my role in society and in the workplace. And since my retirement involved a move for my wife’s new job assignment I lost all familiar surroundings, friends and acquaintances. I no longer knew my barber, the checkout person at the grocery store or my way around town. I was lost, a stranger in a strange land. Oh yes, I also became a senior citizen…..feeling and looking older each day.

Adjustment to this new life has been difficult. For the most part I have overcome the challenges. Moving from feeling like I lived in a vacuum initially to the stage of chaos and then to a new definition of myself was not easy. There were many other stages of development along the way and I continue the struggle today.

Now I think I would like to design a workshop, develop a website, perhaps write a book about the emotional preparation for retirement and dealing with the unexpected. I don’t know whether anyone else has experienced similar phenomenon when they retired but if so I would like to learn from you and also be a resource. I will begin a search for other resources. I read somewhere that retirement is all about the three g’s: Golf, grandchildren and gossip. I love golf, and my grandchildren although I don’t get enough of either. I can do without the gossip. Well maybe a blog like this one is nothing but gossip. And then there is the 6:00 news. If you have thoughts or experiences around the social-emotional issues of retirement please let me know.

Stan the Man