So much time and so little to do 3

Following Frank into Retirement – 2 Months to Go

A series of articles starting 5 months from retirement

By Frank

I’m a middle-of-the-road kind of guy. I enjoy both quiet and strenuous activities and have a wide range of interests, but have yet to discover one that I can pursue with passion (except, of course, Suzanne). While I’m not hyperactive or driven, I do eventually get restless if I’m not up to my elbows in something. I like doing stuff. So, in three months’ time, all those activities that have kept me occupied in the evenings and on weekends will become my full time occupation. Will it be enough?

Don’t do today what you can do tomorrow

Ever since Suzanne and I decided that we would retire at roughly the same time, any large job around our house or property that needs to be done but is not urgent has been postponed until after we retire. Why squeeze something into our busy schedules now when we can procrastinate later? Our boxes of uninstalled kitchen backsplash tiles and grout are gathering dust. Our bush trails are overgrown. My workshop is a disaster. The gardens have been neglected and the Japanese knotweed / False spirea / Virginia creeper /brambles are not-so-slowly taking over. These are all jobs that in the past would have been done in an exhausting frenzy because of the limited time available. We are really looking forward to picking away at them over a long stretch of time. No need to flog ourselves completing a job in two days if we can devote maybe an hour or two a day over a couple of weeks to get it done. We’re hoping that even the more onerous work, like weeding gardens and mowing the lawn, will become more enjoyable at a leisurely pace. Personally, I can’t wait to see the impact of a long-term campaign against some of the more aggressive plants around our house. Mother Nature never rests? Well, we can be pretty persistent too!

The big leap

I talk a pretty good game, but I’m still quite concerned about the sudden shift from full work hours to full leisure hours. Besides a salary and spending power (money, arrgh!), work provides me with a focus for a major part of the day and social interaction with my colleagues. Will my ideas for life in retirement be enough to keep me happy or at least sane? As I mentioned in earlier blogs, Suzanne and I enjoy spending as much time together as possible, but we both have our work experiences to provide additional personal connections. Will we be able to find enough camaraderie from volunteer work and participating in various activities?
 
It would be good to start testing the waters by volunteering before retirement, but we just don’t have the time or energy. In theory, there should be no problem with retirement, and in the worst case, I suppose I could always go back to working (arrgh again!). To be on the safe side, though, I am building up an inventory of things I would like to do but for which I just haven’t had the time.

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

So these are a few of my favourite things. I love to cook (and eat) and I’m keen to build a smoker, figure out how to bake Jewish style rye bread, make my own salami, and experiment with vegetarian jerky and sausages. I love trees and I expect to spend days upon days pruning branches, building trails and hugging trees on our 85 acres. While I may not be passionate about music, I really enjoy farting around on different instruments and I’ve got a baritone, a clarinet, a French horn, a trumpet, a flute, a trombone, several recorders and harmonicas, a guitar, a piano and a harmonium (all in various states of disrepair) that should keep me tooting. I’m also keen to learn more about gas engines and car maintenance as I like to fix things, and our lawn mowers, weed whacker, chain saws, snowblower and car will provide me with ample opportunity to do so. Reading is a great escape for me and I’m always thrilled to find a new book that turns day into night and night into day. Besides fiction, I’ll be reading up on the history, culture and customs of the various countries we intend to visit. It makes travel so much more interesting for me. I would also like to try volunteering to read to the elderly and sick.
 
Speaking of volunteering, you won’t see me on any boards or going to meetings. I want hands-on work. Perhaps I can help out at the local food bank or Habitat Restore, or bake treats for people visiting loved ones at the nearest hospice. Of course my list wouldn’t be complete without mentioning my three favourite kids and their significant others. I’m really looking forward to having the time to spend with them. Camping, playing, plotting, renovating, babysitting (no rush!), partying – I’m up for anything they want to do with us.
So I guess I’m ready to give retirement a try. As a toddler we know once remarked: “vewwy scawwy!” Ah, but I’ve got plans.