The Best Parts Of Being Almost-Retired
Retirement may look different for different people, but here’s what we think are some of the greatest benefits of being almost-retired.
After decades of working, raising a family, playing a part in community and church life, etc., we are finally beginning to enjoy our almost-retired life.
We recently came across this post about living one slow day at a time on the YouTube channel “Small Retired Life.” In the video, creator Raina talks about what she believes are some of the best parts of being retired. It got us thinking about (and talking about) what we love most about our almost-retired life.
Though we’re still working part of the time, we’ve gotten to the place where we’re experiencing what it’s like to be retired a lot of the time. These are some of the things we enjoy about our lifestyle now – and are looking forward to enjoying even more when we’re both fully retired.
We love our relaxed start to the day (most days).
We have completely opposite styles in the morning. As soon as Bob opens his eyes, he jumps out of bed and is raring to go. He likes to “get ‘er done” first thing every day and save time to relax later on. I, on the other hand, have never been a morning person. It takes me a long time to wake up, and even longer to get moving. And please don’t talk to me or turn on anything that makes a sound.
It has kind of gradually worked out that Bob comes downstairs first and has his coffee while catching up on the news. Sometimes he does a few chores first thing. I stay upstairs longer and take my time getting ready to face the day. When I come down for my first cup of tea, we sit at the kitchen table and chat a bit about the day. Or not. But we’re usually not in any rush to do anything.
We love being able to stay up as late as we want. And take a nap the next day if we stayed up too late!
In my job I need to wake up at 4 or 4:30 a.m. on conference days. Which means I try to get to bed by about 8 or 9:00 p.m. the night before. That can be really hard to do for someone who tends toward being a night owl. It’s always a relief to get back home where I don’t have to worry about what time I’m getting to bed. Or what time I get up.
I’m not usually a big napper, but it’s nice to be able to take a short one whenever we want. On a gloomy, rainy day recently we indulged in a lazy afternoon nap and it felt great.
We love not having too many scheduled things to do.
Most of the time now we don’t have any deadlines to meet, or dates to watch. We can be spontaneous about our schedule, or change it as we like.
One of our sons got married recently. I was able to make a last-minute plan to go where they live a week earlier to help with wedding preparations. After the (beautiful and amazing!) wedding day, Bob and I were tired and didn’t have the energy to travel back home. So we just stayed a couple extra days with my sister and came home when we were ready.
We love being available to help our family when needed.
When our life isn’t regulated by our work schedules, we have the freedom to do things for others who need us.
For example, my sister is getting ready to downsize into a smaller house. I like being able to tell her I can come and help with the move when she’s ready. And that I am free to stay for however long it may take. We can fit our schedule around our loved one’s schedules as needed.
We love being able to do things when it’s less busy. And maybe less expensive.
After school starts back in the fall, the beaches and pool are empty and we get to enjoy them that way for a while. When it gets too windy or the water is too cold for the beach, we can switch to the springs near us. Canoeing on the Wekiva river or taking a boat ride up the St. John’s river without all the crowds of summer are magical.
It’s great to go shopping in the middle of the day when the stores are less crowded. And when even getting there is easier with less traffic on the road.
We’re going to a movie tonight, and we fully expect there won’t be a long line. In fact, we could be the only ones in the theater. (It’s happened a few times before!)
In addition, we’re free to take advantage of some of the discounts available at off-peak times.
We love not having to “keep up appearances.”
Bob says one of the best parts of being retired is eating all the chips and cookies he wants! While it’s probably not a good idea (or good for our health) to put on the pounds eating junk food, I’ll admit I don’t feel the pressure of having to look a certain way in my almost-retired life. It is freeing indeed to not care so much about my hair or makeup or weight.
In our work lives we both had to present ourselves professionally. I’m still in the place where I need to do that for my job. But at home and when we’re out and about in our daily lives, we are usually in shorts and t-shirts. Or casual clothes like jeans or athletic wear. There are very few occasions where we need to dress up, and we like it that way.
We love that we don’t always have to be doing something. And that we can take things slowly when we are.
If we don’t feel like working in the yard work or doing laundry or running errands today, we don’t have to. We can do it tomorrow. Or the next day.
And when we do decide to get out and work in the garden, if we run out of something we need, or it gets too hot, we can finish the job another day. There’s rarely any rush to do anything.
We’re living the almost-retired life now, and we have all the time in the world!