I’m specifically aware of retirement because my wife, Elizabeth, after 42 years at Queen’s University, is retiring today. So things are different, hopefully better, but different. After all, there’s no gold watch, like there was in our parents’ generation.
Retirement offers a whole slew of changes. For example, as a Library Technician, my wife tried always to be as perfect as possible, or others would be affected by her errors. Now she only has to worry about me (still a full-time job!).
So the current question is how will she let go of chasing perfection? The answer? Gradually, at her own pace, as much or as little as she is comfortable with. She is truly in charge of living life on her own terms now.
One question that comes up “Do you have travel plans?” And the answer to that one is “YES!” We are planning to go to both Odessa and Moscow. For the record, both are within an hour’s drive of Kingston. (Borscht here we come!)
Apart from the planned travel, she (and consequently I) has endless possibilities ahead. And with those possibilities come choices. So many choices!
Everybody hates being married to a life coach – the questions seem endless. “What do you want to do?” “What do you want to have?” What do you want to become?” She’ll hopefully get to some answers before she strangles me. So, if she tells you I’m in the garden, dig deeper!
You may not be considering or even facing retirement in your near future, but you can always ask yourself those questions and ponder your answers. What action steps could you take? What would make these steps more concrete?
What are your thoughts? As always, I’d love to hear from you.
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