Retirement

 I wonder why the first and most common question people ask me is, "how do you like being retired?" Why does everyone wonder how you like it? Should I NOT like it? Is there some unspoken fear of retirement? Perhaps it reminds folks of the approaching end of life? Perhaps they dread the hours and days of unplanned unscheduled life? Perhaps they married for better or worse but not for lunch?

I spent 30 years either making direct safety decisions as an air traffic controller or, as an air traffic manager creating and implementing policy or procedures that affect safety.  The responsibility was 24/7/365 - phone calls in the middle of the night, pages, texts, endless emails, issues occurring anytime and any day. Frankly, it's a nice change to only be responsible for myself and family. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed almost every moment of my air traffic career and I still miss it daily - but retirement suits me now and I'm glad to enjoy the luxury of it.

And speaking of suits (the other kind), I was in a clothing store the other day (Kohl's - with lots of other white haired weekday shoppers) and walked by a rack a suits and other such dress clothes. I realized that it has been more than a year since I wore a tie, suit, or dress clothes. I like that. No, I mean I REALLY like that. 

One retirement challenge is that I must create my life daily. When I had a job to define my days and weeks as the main focus around which other sub-activities revolved, life was easier and more predictable in many respects. Now, life and time are more like a blank canvas. Filling that canvas takes some practice and intent. I hope I get to keep practicing for a long while.