Sandy...

WELCOME! Thank you for visiting my musings about retirement.

When I sat down to write this welcome message, I wondered if it would be more accurately called ‘When to retire’. But then I realized that in the months since I stepped away from my 35-year communications career, I have thought about all the questions: who, what, where, when and why. So ‘how’ sort of sums it all up!

I had been mentally preparing for my retirement for over a year, having met regularly with my retirement specialist at the bank and even dropping hints to my boss so he wouldn’t be caught completely by surprise. I even provided little daily reminders to myself by changing my passwords to retirement-related words, though that approach just led to confusion. I had worked ‘snowbird’ into one of my passwords early on, but couldn’t login to my computer because I kept typing ‘snowboard’. Then I changed it to ‘farewell’, but was attempting to login with ‘welfare’. They tell you not to write your passwords down, but a person really should if you’re trying to be newly clever.

Then one day it seemed like retirement came to me. As we’re hearing so much in the wake of the pandemic, it seemed the right time to embrace the change that I’ve been craving – and saving for throughout these past decades. In fact, I was suddenly so excited by the mere thought that by the time I announced it to my boss it came out something like, “I think I’m just going to leave today.” After further discussion, we landed on a retirement date six months away. With all that settled, it was time to make the official announcement.

And it was then that I realized there’s not a lot of information out there about retirement – like anecdotes from mentors who have gone before us and who can share a lighthearted glimpse into the hiccups and the joys of this pivotal life milestone. I felt like I was looking up from the busyness of a long career and discovering I still have a lot to learn! I became aware that the topic of retirement is not a common one to write about – or more precisely, the topic of re-learning the routines and priorities of daily existence outside of work.

So I began writing about this transition and was pleased when the Red Deer Advocate picked up my insights and antics in a weekly column – it is this column which now forms my blog ‘Life in Retirement’. It’s not meant to be professional health or financial information, but a tiny glimpse into the weird and wonderful world of aging! Consider it chicken soup for retired people!

Thanks for visiting and please return often! I post a new blog each week and I do plan to invite guest writers to share their expertise in more ‘serious’ topics like financial priorities and wellness tips. We can all learn together as we move forward!

Carry on!

Sandy