[coolkayaker1]

I like that deep sea fishing club idea.

[LuauLinda]

I am having retirement panic also but it is not for myself; my husband is 12 years older than I am and he is retiring but I can't yet. I feel a wide range of emotions about it that make me feel guilty, because of course I want my husband to retire, he is 66 after all! But I am at the peak of my career salary wise, unfortunately with no benefits or pension. My husband is self employed and also has no pension. I can support us both with my salary and I feel the need to keep "padding the 401K". This means he will be moving into our new home (as of August 15) after we sell our house here in Atlanta, but I will stay here and continue working at my job. If I am able to find a job at the same salary in Florida I will take it but that is unlikely. My husband and I each went through divorces before meeting 16 years ago and have put our 5 children through college. I guess I never thought about what we would do when he reached retirement age and wanted to move to Florida to golf and play his ukulele! Is anyone else in a similar predicament? Any "commuter marriages"? I would drive to TV on Thursday afternoon and leave Sunday. Is this a crazy plan or what? I will live in a small apartment during the week or ...... cardboard box in woods?

[ssmith]

I knew something was up....you and I have talked before. I was impressed by your planning.

Glad you were able to find what was nagging at the back of your consciousness.

Enjoy.

[crummybuttons]

Originally Posted by TrudyM

Anybody experience emotional / mental shutdown when facing retirement?How did you get past it?
Did you deal with all right away or put off the decisions that could wait.

Husband is going to hit the retirement button next Thursday.
We are both having Panic attacks. Usually I handle all paperwork, plans, logistics etc. for our marriage unit. However my brain has shut down. I pulled out my retirement preplan file done back in 2006 when he first qualified for his early pension and we considered retiring to the villages (I had been offered a job there-- long story). I realized none of the steps to take are now applicable.

I have been sitting around for a week in a state of total brain freeze. The to do list is so long I don't know where to start. I keep thinking I am forgetting something vital that will create a mess.
I sit and read post after post here thinking it will give me an emotional boost and get me back in action. Nothing.

How did you handle it when it was you retiring?

we were so excited about retiring after working our butts off for so many years. After 1 year in TV.....we got the itch and we both went back to work. I can't sit still....

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by coolkayaker1

You will think I'm making this up, but I'm not: my last day at work is tomorrow, Wednesday, July 10! I have gone to college, grad school and worked continuously since age 18. I decided to pull the plug now; I will turn 49 in August. I have run every financial calculator online, twice each, and spoken to my financial guy at length several times, and decided "what the hey".

I can't say I have any experience at retirement yet; you are all sages to me, with experience and wisdom. I respect that greatly.

I'm taking the tact that a few others have mentioned to me: do something "big". A long-term project that is fulfilling emotionally, takes effort and time to complete, requires dedication and self-imposed discipline, and make it a "mission".

For me, I'm writing a full-length manuscript of publishable quality (well, two really--one a medical thriller involving the US Govt, and the other a literary fiction work about a man who has lost it all--and I pray that it's not an autobiography!). I love writing, and will treat this like a "job", but one where I'm chief cook and bottle washer. I'm inspired in the morning and love solitude--although I will be writing in coffee shops and library most of the time--and will spend at least four hours a day at it.

The contribution I can make to TrudyM, and this works for only some, I think, is to pick something "big"--write a publishable novel, run a marathon for the first time, RV to every state in the nation, open an orphanage in Ecuador, win Nathan's national hot dog eating contest--and work to accomplish it.

If we first place one large rock in a big clear glass jar, the tiny rocks will work themselves in around it and the jar is destined to be full.

Sometimes it helps to begin with that large rock.

I like the way you think. You will add so much to The Villages and I hope you will find a lot of joy and fulfillment here.