Random Thoughts: Retired Life

Retirement is one of the most anticipated events in the lives of most mature adults in this country. Of course, there are always a few who do not want to retire, either because they never developed any other interest in life, or they don’t feel financially secure, but they are a small minority. Most people look forward to retirement for reasons that range anywhere from escaping the drudgery and boredom of repetitive work, work related stress, long hours, dislike for the work environment, desire to do things that one always wanted but never had time to do, and so on. Retirement is expected to be the start of the golden years, when a couple has completed their family obligations, children are grown and out of the house, and financial resources are secure enough to indulge in all those things that had to be put off while the children were the first priority.

Ever since my retirement, the question I get asked most often is: “How is retirement?” My answer is always the same, “It is great”. I had spent six years commuting to Cleveland every Monday morning, and returning home to Monroeville on Fridays in my last job. It was a financially necessary but otherwise difficult period for the whole family, and everyone was happy when it was over. During the first two years of retirement, I continued to work part time, mostly from home, for my last employer, and a university, gradually transitioning into full retirement. It was also nice to have Sinan around during that first year, although he did not appreciate my bugging him constantly about his college application essays, and the need for maintaining good grades in his senior year in high school instead of getting afflicted with “senioritis”, the disease of slacking off after college applications were submitted.

One of my great privileges since retirement has been the pleasure of reading the morning newspaper in the morning, instead of rushing off to work at 7:30 and waiting till late evening to read it. I was also free of all the stress that comes with work. There was no longer any pressure to write research proposals in search of funding, or to conduct research work on on-going projects, prepare progress reports, final reports and presentations for sponsors, write papers for conferences and publications, although I did enjoy traveling to new places for conferences, staying in nice hotels around the world and interacting with my peers.

Everyone asks, “How do you spend your time?” Surprisingly the problem I have is just the opposite. How to find the time to do all the things I need or want to do. I have developed a new appreciation for housewives, after being thrust into the role of a house husband following retirement. I don’t mind cooking dinner, in fact I enjoy it, provided I know what to cook, and have a recipe to follow. I have become a familiar face in the local specialty food store where I buy all my fresh meat, fish, and vegetables for the chosen recipes. I even attended a few of their cooking classes in the beginning, where I was usually the only man among a group of ladies. I consider myself to be a decent cook, albeit a very slow one compared to my wife. Not only am I slower, but unlike her I’m totally incapable of multi-tasking which seems to be a uniquely feminine quality. Besides cooking, there is a host of other household tasks that require a considerable amount of my time. Then there are my leisure time activities such as reading, writing, listening to music, watching sports, news, and politics on television, practicing my golf swing at the driving range, and my favorite activity, going to the gym.

The gym I belong to is the well-equipped local establishment of a national fitness center. It has a large clientele, a microcosm of the population in this area. There are whites, blacks, and Asians, old and young, men and women, a very diverse group from all walks of life. I see a handful of Indian women, but rarely an Indian man. I have come to know a few of the people working out at the same time as I do well enough to consider them my friends. Thus we can combine working out with socializing, making the whole experience a more pleasurable one. There are some who I draw inspiration from, such as 90 year old world war II fighter pilot Bill who works out every single day, 86 year old Vern another world war II veteran, 84 year old Bob, 72 year old former colleague Bob, and several younger men and women who are regulars there, working out at about the same time as I do. They all have interesting stories to tell.

During the weekend, Semahat and I enjoy going out to dinner either by ourselves or with friends, going to movies, theaters, operas, museums, and some shopping. One other activity we both enjoy is traveling, seeing new and interesting places and people. Up to this point in my retired life, our travels have been restricted somewhat by the limited number of vacation days available to Semahat. We expect the pace to pick up after her retirement in about two years. On the whole, retirement has been a wonderful experience, and I recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone who is approaching that final milestone in his or her career.