What Shall I Do? Panic Has Set In...
July 27, 2013
Here's how I'm feeling nowadays...retirement in 3 months!
Image Credit: www.homemommanager.blogspot.com
Haven't been able to write here since the tragedy with the butterflies, June 18, but now I'm out of time. I retire October 31. The days are flying by and the retirement process is far more complicated than I had imagined.
Lots of decisions on annuities, Medicare choices, and future plans have frozen into non-action. Next week I sign all the final paperwork for leaving my professional employer forever.
Reading and studying such books do nothing to ease the panic.
Image Credit: www.amazon.com
I really believed that research, interviews with retired friends, and positive plan-making would make the transition on November 1 a simple step into my future life. Not true.
So here I sit, looking at the documents and forms and other paperwork that must be completed before next week. At the same time, I must commit to applying for Medicare part B with something else called part D...Way too much information.
The first thing I must do is get a new life-long companion...a loving dog to keep me company.
Photo Credit: www.smh.co.au
So, come November 1, I will spend the day contemplating the next third of my life and visiting local animal shelters for my new best friend. I believed that I should jump on the nearest cruise ship to get far away from my home and my former job. But I think now I must put down some more domestic roots to help me find my way through the emotional ups and downs of this process called retirement.
The finish line is in view, and I'll cross it, whether I'm ready or not.
Photo Credit: www.madebythepotter.blogspot.com
In any case, in any scenario, retirement will happen, no matter how much I panic and worry during the next three months. I am grateful that I will be returning to teaching when school begins on August 12, because that focus will relieve some of the panic every day until the final day arrives.
My suggestion for anyone approaching retirement is to accept the fact that your life is about to change, for better or worse, and the future will be what you decide to make of it from now on.
Happy Trails To Everyone About To Retire!
Photo Credit: www.blog.ebby.com
