Reflections – Three Months In

Good day, everyone! It’s been a while since I logged a blog entry. To be honest, I haven’t felt compelled to add another entry until this morning. This lack of motivation could have been due to a variety of things, including I’ve been busy with other things, I didn’t feel I had much to add, etc. While I’m still not sure I have much to add today, here goes.

March was more challenging than the first two months of retirement. The parties were over, the “honeymoon” phase had passed, and the real transition to being a “connoisseur of life” began. It was during this time that I realized the loss of the thing I really valued at work: the social element of the workplace. The interaction with people. As I reflect on it, I think it was a culmination of many things including the never-ending-winter that seems to have gripped my new hometown, the horrific events occurring in Ukraine, concern about a daughter forced to quarantine in San Francisco for a week due to COVID, and the actual reduction in conversations with a variety of people. I was doing really well in terms of exercising, engaging in activities that were mentally challenging, and filling my days with rewarding activities such as woodworking, reading really good and challenging materials, spending time with the grandkids, cooking, researching potential travel destinations, and playing games with my beautiful spouse. While grieving the reduction of interactions with others wasn’t unexpected, it led me to realize I have to put more effort into this one aspect of my life.

As a result, I have begun volunteering at the local food co-op and at the Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge. I have also signed up to go through the training to become a Minnesota Master Naturalist for the Big Woods, Big Rivers biome. These activities will provide not only physical opportunities (e.g., unloading food shipments for the food shelf) but also education and social interactions with classmates and, hopefully, students in the years to come.

As I said at the beginning of this entry, I’m not sure I had a lot to add today. But, in the vein of sharing my entire retirement transition journey, I wanted to make sure I cover not only the fun activities and benefits of retirement, but also some of the struggles that accompany such a life change. While I’ve been told by one retiree that I’ve transitioned through the emotional phases of the change faster than most he has observed, the transition has its challenges. Today, I do feel better about all aspects of my new life than I have before. I see a world of opportunities and am truly excited about what the future holds.

Thank you for taking the time to read this entry and, as always, I welcome your comments and questions. Until next time….