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What a difference a year makes. Time, it seems, doesn’t merely pass, it can transform us, reshaping the ordinary rhythms of our days into something we scarcely recognize as our own life.
I spent this afternoon at the season highlight of the local soccer league year, an annual clash between the two biggest teams with around 20,000 other spectators cheering them on. My wife Suzie and I had a grand time with my grandson, caught up in the spectacle and the shared excitement. Yet as I waited for kickoff, my mind wandered to these same three days last year, and the stark contrast revealed something about what it means to reclaim one’s time.
Last Christmas Eve, I was in my business by 6am, running operations until 6pm. This year, I rose late, savored a few black coffees, and took a 45-minute stroll to the local ice-cream parlour with the grandkids. I know which Christmas Eve I preferred. A year ago on Christmas morning, the intruder alarm summoned me to spend hours at the office awaiting an engineer. This year, I had a leisurely day in the kitchen preparing dinner. And instead of today’s lively soccer match, last December 26th found me grinding through ten hours of year-end tax reporting while the business stood empty for the holidays.
Retirement has certainly brought welcome change. But perhaps what strikes me most is this: we spend decades building something we call a career, mistaking busyness for purpose, until one day we stop—and discover that life, the real substance of it, was waiting patiently for us all along. Retirement was certainly the greatest gift I received this past year.
Given your description of 12 months ago, it sounds like retirement was critical to your health! So glad that it worked out so well for you.
I think it’s interesting to contrast how you went from 100% (maybe 120%) to fully retired so quickly, whilst others have a much slower transition over many years. Certainly shows that everyone needs to tread their own unique path.
Man O Man Mark, I always enjoy your writings. You regularly give the reader something to think about that can be related to themselves. Really glad you have the ability to share life stories.
I am retired 10+ years and have never missed being at work. We are fortunate to be financially secure and have been able to travel freely. However, I do have a few thoughts that may be worth sharing for those still working: 1) You need to figure out how to spend your time when retired. Hobbies, volunteerism, travel, etc. It doesn’t matter – you need things to keep yourself busy and give purpose in retirement. 2) As the pandemic taught us, events may not always work out the way you planned, so you need to be flexible. And, 3) Aging is not a linear process, but accelerates as we get older. You may be able to walk 10 miles a day at age 65, but by the time you are approaching 80, you likely won’t. If you want to travel in retirement, don’t wait.
Most of us are tied to a retirement timetable that depends on Social Security, Medicare and retirement savings, but if we had been able to swing it at an earlier age, I would not have hesitated to retire early.
Amen.
Enjoyed your article Mark. Yes as much as I enjoyed my career, I’m enjoying retirement more. However, retirement should not be an end in itself. Work is important for sure and perhaps we should work as long as we’re able or at least as long as it’s rewarding. I like what someone said, “Many people are too busy making a living that they forget to make a life.”