The Real Housewives of Oklahoma have their Mclinky Monday Meme going on. This week’s “theme of the meme” is:
“Look into the future. You’ve spent your life taking care of everyone else, but now the kids are gone and it’s just you and your spouse. What do you do now?”
Retirement is not an option any time soon. We have a 12 year old with autism, SuperPizzaBoy, and how independent he will be is a very open question and weighs heavily on our minds. So I can see me working for another ten years. However, I’m in the energy business and its just best to not count on longevity. It is a commodity based business and its fortunes wax and wane with a million different factors. (Just like any other industry!)
But anyway, lets just say we get our son educated and lets say I can retire. I can’t see moving anywhere out of Tulsa. Tulsa has its problems but I just cannot see turning our back on our life here and moving somewhere else. Also, my wife Sweetie is very plugged into the community here via her volunteer work and is younger than me and she may not want to move and start all over somewhere else.
I am going to stay up a little later every night and sleep in a little later. No more getting up at 5:15 every morning. Does anybody really think I like that?
I plan on having lunch with Sweetie a lot at a lot of different places.
I am going to travel more. I am going to visit my family more and go see stuff that I always wanted to go see and do things that I always wanted to do. I want to go see Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater for example and I want to take a float trip down the Grand Canyon. I want to see some broadway plays on Broadway.
I’m going to have a job. I plan on being a volunteer advocate for families with special needs who are trying to get the services their children need from their school districts. It kills me the way school district administrations screw over families while avoiding their legal responsibilities to provide an appropriate education to their children. I think that I have a lot of skills that can brought to bear to help families deal with that. I am a professional negotiator by trade. I think I’m pretty good at it. I am not a yeller and screamer, I’m a problem solver.
I am much closer to retirement. My current plan is to retire at the end of next year.
I will do a lot more fishing, a lot more landscaping around the house, and a lot more traveling to see family. I’ll also get much more involved in digital photography. I believe I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Your future looks Bright! I loved that last line! The world needs more people like you Alan!
Great post
I think that is a great plan!
@Driller – good for you. I have no doubt that you will make good use of your extra time.
@Georgie, with two hearts – thanks!
@Baloney – When do you think I should tell Sweetie about it?
As far as I know you thru your blog, I am sure you will do most of it before retirement..Spending more time with loved ones is the best part of my retirement..
Hi Yogi….
I understand…
I am already retired…
things will all work out..they always do…
my eldest has a kidney condition which she outlived since she was 18 months old…
I am your latest follower..
Mine is here
Happy Monday!
hugs
shakira
Wait a minute…where is the “help Sweetie with housework” in this plan?
Here! Here! For going to be later and sleeping in later! Sounds like a good plan 😉
Good plan II took early retirement over ten years ago. My standard wisecrack is that retirement is not all it’s cracked up to be, it’s a lot better than that. Or, Retirement is a 7 day week with 6 Saturdays and a Sunday.
A lot of my plans for travel and retirement activities were sidelined when I was first diagnosed with have colon cancer a year after retiring. Nevertheless, twelve years and 3 major surgeries later I am still ticking and still enjoying retirement. It still beats working.
That is a good plan!!
Sounds like an excellent plan! 🙂 Loved your last paragraph! Good job, Alan!
Sounds like a good plan to me, especially not getting up at 5:15 any more.
Thanks for playing!
LOL, Sweetie! of course he’s going to help more with the housework.
Alan, whatever you do you will have fun and enjoy it.
I wish I could say I was a little less of a yeller. Maybe I should just up my medication?!?! LOL!
Thanks for participating again!
Sounds like a plan, Yogi. Personally, I’d like to make it a goal to visit and look at every exhibit in the strand of Smithsonian museums. But I’m a nerd that way. 🙂
@Sweetie – I’ve added housework to the plan Sweetie. The plan has to work for everybody.
I’m a problem solver, too. I yell and scream until the problem is solved.
But you are a luck man to have Sweetie and SPB…and they are lucky to have you, too.
I can relate to this, Yogi. I can remember getting up at five. Lots of interesting stuff to do when you retire.
Of course, I also relate to the problems of families with disabled children. LAUSD is closing the school Michael goes to and we are not sure where they will put him.
It’s not just getting services from the schools that need to be addressed. My D-I-L met family who’s child was so disabled that one parent had to stay up all night just to be sure the child didn’t have a life threatening crisis. The family wasn’t aware they were entitled to in-home help, their case worker should have told them.
I am looking forward to not getting up at 5 the most. Of course, when I won’t *have* to get up that early is when I’ll start waking up earlier than 5. My Nana used to get up at 3:30. Just because. A little old lady at church Wednesday night told us she does her Bible study at 2:30am because that’s when she gets up. (What time does that woman go to bed I wonder?)
And lunch with my darling…that sounds fabulous.
Thanks for sharing!
Sounds like an awesome plan.
Sounds like a noble plan. I know the families will appreciate your help too. 🙂
I think that sounds like a GREAT future!!! Go for it!
Oh–and I DO think you like getting up at 5:15 a.m. I think it’s how you get us to feel sorry for you. 😉 ha ha ha!
My husband planned for his retirement at 65 but,sadly, died at 64. Thus, my advice to all is “don’t put off tomorrow what you can do today” life’s too short.
Saludos y bueno suerte. Gracias por este. Es Verdad!
Retirement isn’t an option here either.
It sounds like you will never slow down. We need more advocates. This is my first year to homeschool. I never, never thought I would homeschool, but we felt it was our only option. My child is happy now. Oh, we’re going to the Grand Canyon one day, but not on the skywalk.