Retirement fears?

It looms before me and I am very excited in some ways and then not in others. Have we made the right decision? Are our financial calculations correct? Will we have enough money to do what we would like to do for ourselves, family and charity? How will we fill our time?

How will we fill our time?

It sounds silly. Having looked forward to this for so long it seems funny that this is now the question upper most on my mind. It gnaws away at me in the wee hours when I can’t sleep. I’m sure that those who have retired will say ‘don’t worry. Time will have a way of filling itself’.

Many of my retired friends say they are as busy now as they were when working only less stressed and in complete control of how they manage their days, evenings and weekends.

I have some thoughts. Silly thoughts I suspect, but hey sometimes silly thoughts have led to some interesting discoveries, journeys and stories to tell. Life is about living, learning, sharing, giving, loving, supporting, laughing and a whole host of other things besides. So, without much ado, here we go…………….my proposed time fillers

I think I would quite like to  

·        Spend much more time with Mum and Dad; see my sisters more often

·        Visit my brother in New Zealand

·        Bring my gorgeous wife a cup of coffee and breakfast in bed for the rest of her life AND have all the washing and housework done by the time she gets up; and, from now on, sort all the household and car insurance paper work and bills as well!!

·        Spend more time with my friends and be a better, more sociable friend than I have been in recent years

·        Do a learning how to sketch/draw class

·        A day skipper theory course ought to be a priority

·        Do an A level in history – my son has fired my passion for the subject

·        A father daughter trip – I’ve done a couple of father/son ones but daughter and I never seem to coordinate our time and I so want to do a trip or two with her

·        Volunteer for a local children’s sailing charity

·        Actually make it to a Dinghy Cruising Association rally for once

·        Join a pub quiz team

·        Be a film extra – ambition to have a walk by part in ‘Poldark’

·        Bring joy to my neighbours by landscaping and controlling our wild garden

·        In same vein, make their cups runneth over with joy by decorating the house

·        Run a half marathon for charity (HaHaHaHaHa – sorry, overcome with mirth at that thought, given I’m a short, fat, overweight welsh guy)

·        Go on a wood work course so I can make my own oars, turn square yards and booms into circular ones and actually do just one piece of high quality wood work, once in my life

·        Learn to sail properly, I mean really learn to sail; to be able to overnight anchor off beaches without suffering anxiety attacks and self-doubt; to be able to properly trim Arwen’s sails and actually understand what I’m doing with tack, downhaul, outhaul for different wind circumstances – basically to do justice to John Welsford’s wonderful boat design (I feel soooo guilty – sorry John); to be able to actually plot a coastal passage where I, for once, plot tidal drift, passage speed and ETA’s reasonably accurately!!

·        Master some basic sailing skills – sailing on and off moorings and anchor and alongside pontoons; and yes, leave the outboard motor at home A wise man did tell me a year or so ago, it would be the only way to learn to sail properly……get out there and just do it…..you’ve got oars and anchor if there is a problem. And I guess from September, there is no rush or urgency to be home at a certain time to get ready for school. No more excuses……ouch…….this one is going to be a steep and painful learning curve!!

·        Join the University of the Third Age

·        Find some volunteering work supporting the elderly in our community

How will I fill my time? Possibly this might not be as much of a problem as I fear!