Now Officially Retired
Mar. 6th, 2026 08:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerToday was my official last day of work / start of retirement. Yeah, it seems like I've been retired for almost two weeks now. That's because after I submitted my notice of resignation exactly two weeks ago, my company walked me the following Monday.
I've been doing a whole lot of... nothing much... to soft-launch my retirement. Yes, I had/have great plans for what to do in retirement, but I'm caught in a slow period right now. Hawk has been working through medical issues that have made her unable to travel and do outdoors adventures. Recently I decided that since she's on the DL (disabled list) I might as well go on the DL, too. Thus my choice to see a dermatologist about removing a lump on the back of my head. No cardio exercise or even going to a pool for me for a few weeks.
One thing I've reflected on at this two-week anniversary is this meme I've shared a few times when discussing retirement:
I'm happy to report that I am no longer feeling like the sad person in this illustration. I'm not yet the happy person recording cell phone video of sunny long-range vistas— though I know that will come eventually. Once we get off the DL together.
What's changed? I figured before a combination of two things were making me feel down. One was unsorted feelings about quitting my job, for good. The other was misgivings about "What if the money in retirement doesn't last?"
Well, the latter's already getting a bit of a test with how markets have been slumping the past two weeks. And it's not bothering me. I built our financial plan to handle bumps like this. Nearly every day I revisit the numbers to remind myself it's working.
That leaves unsettled feelings about quitting as the culprit for my feelings of sadness and anxiety. Two weeks later isn't a hugely different vantage point to revisit this question, but in terms of how I'm feeling about it, it's close to night and day different already. I have no question about whether I was right to leave that job. I am so over it now. Zero regrets.
I've been doing a whole lot of... nothing much... to soft-launch my retirement. Yes, I had/have great plans for what to do in retirement, but I'm caught in a slow period right now. Hawk has been working through medical issues that have made her unable to travel and do outdoors adventures. Recently I decided that since she's on the DL (disabled list) I might as well go on the DL, too. Thus my choice to see a dermatologist about removing a lump on the back of my head. No cardio exercise or even going to a pool for me for a few weeks.
One thing I've reflected on at this two-week anniversary is this meme I've shared a few times when discussing retirement:
I'm happy to report that I am no longer feeling like the sad person in this illustration. I'm not yet the happy person recording cell phone video of sunny long-range vistas— though I know that will come eventually. Once we get off the DL together.
What's changed? I figured before a combination of two things were making me feel down. One was unsorted feelings about quitting my job, for good. The other was misgivings about "What if the money in retirement doesn't last?"
Well, the latter's already getting a bit of a test with how markets have been slumping the past two weeks. And it's not bothering me. I built our financial plan to handle bumps like this. Nearly every day I revisit the numbers to remind myself it's working.
That leaves unsettled feelings about quitting as the culprit for my feelings of sadness and anxiety. Two weeks later isn't a hugely different vantage point to revisit this question, but in terms of how I'm feeling about it, it's close to night and day different already. I have no question about whether I was right to leave that job. I am so over it now. Zero regrets.
no subject
Date: 2026-03-13 07:36 pm (UTC)Cheers!