Racing to Retirement

Notice how Shadow’s ears are almost standing straight up and her fur looks like it’s blowing in the wind.  She’s just crossing the finish line of the 2008 ESS Agility Challenge in Dallas and has flown through the course with a clean run (no mistakes).  She’s looking very happy and looking toward me running on her right.   Whether she placed first or not, she was very pleased with her run.  (She did place first!) This is how I want to look as I race off to retirement. 

So, you may ask, how do I get there?  Maybe in some ways it is like training for agility with Shadow.  We played and practiced hard.  I set goals and we trained for them.  A couple of years ago, I was a part of a women’s circle that meet twice a month.  When it was my turn to talk, I talked about my thoughts on retiring.  I began to think through how I wanted my life to be.  How did I envision spending my time?  And, I am talking specifically about what I planned to do – not just to end world hunger and homelessness.   Were there activities that I currently do, but would like to have more time for them?  Are there new activities that might require training/education? 

A number of the activities I love – hiking, biking, cross-country skiing, reading – don’t require interacting with others.  I enjoy interacting with others, but where I live is isolated.  So I realized that I needed to plan activities that would provide opportunities to be with other people.  I also wanted to expand my group of friends. I had been a part of a reading group that ended, so I thought I could get involved with a group again – combining friends and reading.  I contacted a former reading friend and together we started another reading group.

To help my transition from very meaningful work to retirement, I decided to get involved with several organizations about which I’m passionate.  Serving on the boards provided the type and level of involvement I wanted.  I would be challenged mentally, contribute to the community, feel useful, but have time for the “fun” activities.  It's the beginning of my race.