What did you do on the first day of retirement?

   / What did you do on the first day of retirement? #41  
For those of you that retired early, did you announce it to tour friends? Have a little party that evening? Any special meeting at work resigning/retiring?

I am one year out from today and am wondering how I am going to go about it without pissing off a bunch of people.

I worked building maintenance with 6 guys incl. the supervisor. I had my own building, the others drove to multiple buildings.
Technically, I was only required to give 2 week notice. However, after 31 years I gave my supervisor 4 months unofficial notice and 1 month written notice to give them time to get a replacement. The 6 guys at work and a couple of higher up managers took me out to a retirement luncheon and all chipped in on a few gifts. There was no special meeting at work other than my meeting with HR to go over my cash out of accumulated time, transfer of 401K funds and insurance options.
I gave plenty of notice and left on good terms, didn't burn any bridges.
I was just called the other day and asked if I would come back Per Diem to cover for a guy taking a leave of absence. I said I'd consider it for a short time if HR can work out an equitable rate with me.
I did not have a retirement party at home.
 
   / What did you do on the first day of retirement? #42  
George, that is the kind if transition I am planning on. But, I have a feeling, based on other people leaving the company, that it wont go like that. It seems you become a pariah as soon as you give a notice. Two weeks is not enough time for them to replace and on-board a new guy. So I will give them a month notice, but have a feeling that will be a long month.

I do have peers that will also see my retirement as a jab to them. My planning and preparation is an affront and makes them resentful. I am kind of looking forward to reactions from work people and other acquaintances. I will be watching for the cream to rise to the top.
 
   / What did you do on the first day of retirement? #43  
George, that is the kind if transition I am planning on. But, I have a feeling, based on other people leaving the company, that it wont go like that. It seems you become a pariah as soon as you give a notice. Two weeks is not enough time for them to replace and on-board a new guy. So I will give them a month notice, but have a feeling that will be a long month.

I do have peers that will also see my retirement as a jab to them. My planning and preparation is an affront and makes them resentful. I am kind of looking forward to reactions from work people and other acquaintances. I will be watching for the cream to rise to the top.

What cream? My former job called for years after I left, until I got an unlisted phone number(which really pi##ed them off).
 
   / What did you do on the first day of retirement? #44  
First day after retirement I woke up at the usual time of 5:30. Been on that schedule for so many years, its a habit that was hard to break. In fact, it was probably 3 years or more before I could stay in bed past 6:00.

Even now, about being retired for 12 years, 6:30 is as long as I can stay in bed. But on the upside, all projects are still on "schedule". It's only my schedule that keeps changing :)

I think it's important that you NOT just retire for no reason. You need projects, hobbies, and vacation plans. Don't allow yourself to become a hermit, recluse, or just one that sits and watches TV all day long. For most of us, retirement resulted in working more and harder than ever before.

I wonder if this is true for everyone, it certainly is for me. It was years before I quit waking/getting up at 5:30 a.m. Now after 7 years, I can usually sleep till 6 a.m. or if I stay up till 10pm I wont get up till around 7am. My wife is always nagging me about getting up early (for what).
Well, I no longer have a schedule. I get up, check TBN, MSN news and email while enjoying my 2 cups of coffee (down from dozens throughout the whole day when I worked), then I play Frisbee with my dog for about 15 minutes. He wont set still past about 8am before he starts jumping up on me to go out and chase that darned plastic disc, so I get some exercise even if I don't really want to.
After that, I look for something that needs doing and just about always find something.

After about 2-3 years of retirement, all my "projects" that were either put off or in process while I was working got finished. Now it is just maintenance which seems to be everlasting. Occasionally, I will see if any of my neighbors need anything just so I can stay busy.

I am not like a few of my neighbors who have nothing better to do than jump in the car and go to town so my cars do a lot of setting in the garages. I did a lot of travelling when I worked so I am really a home body now and love it. I moved from the big city (Houston Texas area) to the country and just hate to have to fight the traffic now. Hot Springs (pop. 50K according to the sign) is really too big for me now so I only go there if I really have to.
 
   / What did you do on the first day of retirement? #45  
Not quite true for me. Army years were early years. The last 7 have been bankers hours.
 
   / What did you do on the first day of retirement? #46  
My first day of retirement I slept in. No alarm clock to jar me awake. Then got up, made a pot of coffee, then breakfast and read the newspaper. Since then I remembered what a doctor told my mother about having some structure to her life after my father died, so I go to bed about the same time every night and get up about the same time every morning. No alarm clock, just wake up naturally, becomes a routine. Then I got into volunteering. I call BINGO at the Senior Center every other week on Tue. morning, then I joined the COA Board in town to have a say and help out the seniors. When my uncle was a resident at the local nursing home, he was bored on the weekend so I started calling BINGO at the nursing home on Sunday mornings and have been doing that for the past 6 yrs. I love it and they love my calling with little ditties like "N-39, Jack Benny's favorite age, 39".
 
   / What did you do on the first day of retirement? #47  
When my dad retired after 40 years in the car sales business I met him at work a few hours before his actual quitting time with all his fly fishing gear, all of my trout fishing gear and a cooler with a few beers in it and said 'We're going fishing for the next three days.'
He kinda balked at leaving midday but I told him the truck is leaving in 30 minutes, what are you gonna do sell a car in your last two hours?
Most of his office he had already emptied out, within 10 minutes of me saying I was leaving in 30 minutes he was in the truck honking the horn to go. His last thing to grab from his office was a picture of the two of us standing in a few inches of snow with our Brittany's and a mess of pheasants.

That was in '09, a week later he had knee replacement, a month later my mom retired, a year later he helped me build my house and shop on the farm 1/4 mile from him and my mom. Together we've built another barn, he has a mowing business, we've hunted in Wyoming and Kansas multiple times, he's been on hog hunts and fishing trips galore and him and mom have traveled alot. He enjoys any combination of 5 grandkids, restored three Allis Chalmers D series tractors and is literally too busy to go back to work. It is a daily argument between him and I as to what day it is, he will ask what day it is, I will tell him, and he will say that can't be right.
Who you gonna trust, a guy who goes to work everyday or a guy who piddles and enjoys life, he eventually gives in.

I agree, you guys who are close to retirement better make plans to keep yourself busy, it keeps the mind sharp, the blood flowing and your body above ground.
 
   / What did you do on the first day of retirement? #48  
Can't remember what I did on my first day of retirement.
That was the day after my 60th birthday, and that was 17+ years ago.
 
   / What did you do on the first day of retirement? #49  
George, that is the kind if transition I am planning on. But, I have a feeling, based on other people leaving the company, that it wont go like that. It seems you become a pariah as soon as you give a notice. Two weeks is not enough time for them to replace and on-board a new guy. So I will give them a month notice, but have a feeling that will be a long month.

I do have peers that will also see my retirement as a jab to them. My planning and preparation is an affront and makes them resentful. I am kind of looking forward to reactions from work people and other acquaintances. I will be watching for the cream to rise to the top.

That is why I gave my boss 4 months unofficially. That gave him enough time to send out a guy for me to train. New guy had to learn the entire building, everything I did on a daily basis, all the equipment PM's, etc. and no way would 2 weeks be enough time. I wanted to leave on good terms. There were others that only gave the required 2 weeks and it put them in a bind training someone new. I was surprised they didn't try to get me to stay by offering more money or perks to stay. My last 4 months were pleasant (actually boring) as I had the new trainee do all the work with my guidance.
 
   / What did you do on the first day of retirement? #50  
I don't remember what I did - likely I smiled a lot. But I remember what I told my team when they asked me what I was going to do on that first day. I said I am going to learn to yodel and spend some quality seat time on my tractor.
 
 
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