Life after retirement. Having been made redundant, life is looking good.
Posted on by Debbie

Surprisingly there is a life after retirement – Musings on a Monday

Retirement update

I have now been ‘retired’ for some time and can honestly say I have not missed going to work at all.

There I’ve said it! I don’t miss going to work! Surprise, surprise!

I do miss the social interactions with my co-workers but as my staff all finished with me (we were all made redundant together), there’s not much to miss, apart from the few special people I enjoyed talking to outside of our area.

What I don’t miss

I don’t miss the toxic environment, the mean, nasty people who love to gossip and make life hell.

I don’t miss the demands of inmates (I worked in a minimum security men’s correctional centre)

I don’t miss the never ending emails from head office staff who knew nothing about what we actually did!

I don’t miss the ‘system’ that governed our workplace

I don’t miss the negativity and low morale.

I sometimes wonder how I managed to work for 22 years in that environment, although in retrospect there were lots of rewarding ‘highs’.

Now:

My days now consist of a few main activities:

  • I run or walk or ride my bike – I like to do this early in the day to get it done (I do have the odd meltdown though)
  • I blog
  • I read blogs
  • I attempt the daily crossword puzzle
  • I do the essential housework
  • I think of what to cook for dinner
  • I shop only when absolutely necessary
  • I wander around the garden admiring my husband’s handiwork
  • I socialise with others or I stay home all day, it’s up to me
  • I plan holidays, make bookings and check out the web
  • I try to learn new things, like using Pinterest – it’s often said as you age you need to learn a new language to keep your brain functioning, well I can assure you that trying to keep up to date with social media is just like learning a new language.
  • I lie in the hammock – life’s tough you know!
  • I smile….a lot
Life after retirement

I am still finding it hard to imagine that life could be so good after such an awful few months leading up to my final day of work.  I’m happy, relaxed, busy but not too hectic, interested, involved and free.  

I’m happy 🙂

I will be revisiting my retirement progress from time to time during the year so I can document my progress through the various stages as per my post in Girls just wanna have fun.

I haven’t had to answer the question ‘What do you do’ yet, so will look forward to that.  I also haven’t had too many people ask me how I’m filling in my time, I think they know me well!

So in summary, life is good!  It’s still early days and I know there will be ups and downs but for the moment I’m coping quite well.  I’m very lucky to be in this position and am grateful, something I didn’t think I would ever say.

How’s life treating you?

Deb 🙂

Last updated February 2019

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In my happy place in Fiji
Happy Debbie

Everyone has a story to tell!

Debbie - mother of a 40 year old

Deb is a young-at-heart & active 60+ blogger/retiree, after being made redundant from her 22-year career managing education programs in a men’s correctional centre (jail). She now spends her time reading, blogging, riding her ebike and travelling. Deb was awarded a Bravery Award from the Queen when she was 17 after a tragic accident – a definite life changing moment! She is married with 3 grown-up daughters & has 4 grandchildren. You can read more of Deb’s story here

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97 Replies to “Surprisingly there is a life after retirement – Musings on a Monday”

  1. Hello Debbie, I was directed to your blog from another blog site and found it really inspiring. Where did you live before moving to Tumbarumba? My husband and I are soooo torn about moving to a location where we love the climate (anywhere with short, cool summers) which means we would have to move very far away interstate from Brisbane, Qld… basically the only thing keeping us in Brisbane are the kids… it’s either be around the kids, which we see at least every fortnight or live somewhere where we love… If you moved far from your family and friends what was the deciding factor for you??

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    1. Hi, thanks for your comment and I’m happy to know how you found my post 🙂 I can see your dilemma and don’t have answers unfortunately! We don’t have any of our children or grandchildren living close by which means we just have to travel to see them, or they come and visit us from time to time. Our town is in rural NSW with four distinct seasons so it’s a real delight to have cold winters and warm summers but the nights always cool down as w don’t have the humidity of Queensland. We moved many years ago as my husband’s job took us from the city to a small country town, it was the best decision we ever made to move. All the best to you!

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  4. I love being retired too. I always thought I would but I got to choose how and when to do it, which makes a big difference. I know a lot of people worry about it, but I think it’s an amazing blessing, and I’m just as busy now as I ever was. Enjoy the good times.

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    1. Thanks for your comment, it was a hard time leaving work in the way I did, but I must say it’s all worked out for the best now. I really couldn’t have imagined it would be so much fun! Good luck with your transition to retirement, so glad I could be a positive for you.

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  12. OMG I just found your blog and when I read it I was amazed. Your story sounds exactly like mine! I too have just retired after a new company came in and systematically pushed us all out of jobs we held for 30 plus years. I too miss fellow coworkers and as I had an office job miss the “getting dressed up” aspect of work. But aside from that I have transitioned into retirement quite well and have a daily routine that sounds very similar to yours. Looking forward to following your blog all the way from Canada. 🙂

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    1. That’s amazing Ruth! We seem to have a lot in common. I’m fortunate to have settled into it now and am enjoying life. I’m happy to hear you are settling into it too. Currently I’m in Fiji for our daughter’s wedding, so life is good 😊. Thanks for following along, it’s great to have you.

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  13. The end of my job was also very toxic and like you I don’t miss the work, do miss the workmates (who are still there which makes getting together difficult…). I am glad to be out of there but it was also a shock (though my decision) and so I’m still struggling with some anger around it all and haven’t started to enjoy the fact it’s over! arghhhh

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    1. I’n sorry to hear you also went through something similar. I hope you can start enjoying it all soon. It took me a while to work through the anger but I’m now on the other side and can see the many positives. Take it easy!

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    1. I’m so enjoying the freedom aspect. I’m glad your mum is enjoying herself too. I can imagine inmates are demanding on the other side of the fence too. It’s always interesting what careers people have had before motherhood! Thanks again.

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  16. The toxic work environment you mention is something I know too well. In my blog, I’ll often refer to is as “The Whispers”, these constant mean, negative, disparaging voices that I can’t block out as I’m simply trying to survive my 8 hours at the office…

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  19. A lovely post. I am far from retirement (unfortunately – I can think of loads of things I could do if I didn’t work). My parents live with me and are both retired. I am looking forward to reading about your thoughts and activities going forward.

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