Random Thoughts on the Passing Scene (With Apologies to Thomas Sowell)

-During a dinner a year or so ago with some of my recently-retired but still working friends, talk turned to what toys the fellas were buying with their “bonus” income. Most of the guys had big-ticket items to report: expensive new trucks, recreational vehicles, motorcycles…things like that. I didn’t have a lot to add to that conversation, but when I was pointedly asked what I’d bought for fun, the most extravagant item I could come up with was a new Trek bicycle that cost me a little under a thousand dollars—far more than I’d ever paid for a bike previously. Still, several other purchases in retirement have brought me significant satisfaction. I bought a standing desk, which almost miraculously cured the chronic neck pain I’d been experiencing. I purchased a Weber charcoal grill, which has taken our cookouts to the next level. I replaced three clunky older cordless drills that I had inherited with a brand new DeWalt drill. This exchange allowed me to complete some much-needed repairs on my mailbox without it becoming an all-day ordeal.  Finally, I bought several dozen interlocking, brightly-colored anti-fatigue foam pads and created a path around my concrete basement floor’s most trafficked areas. My back has thanked me ever since.  The total cost of these four purchases was around $500, hardly requiring me to continue working. Yet they really are the most significant lifestyle-enhancing purchases I’ve made since retiring.

-I’m less fascinated by my financial spreadsheets these days. Before I retired, they helped give me a sense of progress toward our retirement readiness. Today, the numbers seem increasingly meaningless. I’m convinced our combination of cash flow and assets is likely “enough” for our relatively modest lifestyle. Constantly sorting data to check our income or net worth now seems like a somewhat empty exercise, although I admit there is still a bit of residual satisfaction when I observe increases.

-Upon reflection, I realized I haven’t truly experienced retirement yet. I’ve been working part-time jobs since retiring from my 38-year career in 2023 and currently have two employers. My hours have actually increased this year as I’ve been supporting a project that’s particularly interesting to me. Although I work from home and have essentially unlimited autonomy, I’m still very much in the work world. LinkedIn continues to be one of my favorite internet sites to visit. Thus, it seems I’ve kicked the can down the road a few years when it comes to dealing with the identity issues that will inevitably come when I’m fully retired from paid employment.

-I continue to find the most satisfaction in simple, inexpensive pleasures of everyday life: a quick trip to historic Bethlehem, PA with my wife; an exquisite steak from the local butcher cooked to perfection on my new Weber grill and enjoyed on our patio in pleasant weather; meeting with buddies at a local restaurant to share a tasty meal and good conversation; making friends with my daughter’s delightful new tuxedo cat, Morgana, rescued from the parking lot of her workplace.

-We have a grandson due to arrive in September, our first grandchild. I enjoy children—I’m still a big kid in many ways—and am eagerly anticipating supporting my son and his wife as their family expands. I expect to experience significant shifts in my identity, priorities, and perhaps even daily routines after becoming G-pa to this precious new life.