Getting settled?

A year on from retirement, I feel I am coming through the mist. The occasional work I did for my former employer has dried up. It was a sudden end and not handled well but I am trying hard not to miss the additional small income and to “move on.” Another role I had held for many years also came to an abrupt end when I was made redundant but at least that came with a welcome redundancy payment. So some of my shackles were released and I can now realign my priorities.

I now lunch with my friends which is an unexpected pleasure, and my husband(who is semi-retired) and I spend an occasional day out. When my husband has a contract to work away for a day or two, I now accompany him. We book a hotel and, on the day(s) when he is working, I visit local museums and art galleries or go shopping. I think this is Atchley’s Honeymoon period and it is truly enjoyable.

I am also being less driven. My husband pointed out that I was being too hard on myself and setting unrealistic targets for my creative writing. So I have eased up on that and found that when I do tackle the assignments, I derive greater pleasure from the work.

I don’t believe I am fully attuned to retirement yet but I now feel I am on the right path and have started to feel less stressed and generally more optimistic. As Kathy pointed out in kathysretirementblog.com “retirement is a journey, not a destination.” I wholeheartedly agree and am looking forward to where the journey takes me next.