Retirement

After working 22 years with a major tobacco manufacturer and working my way up from sales rep to the first Area VP of Sales I was unceremoniously offered early retirement due to company downsizing. All good, I was in my forties and would start collecting my pension early at age fifty. I moved on and obtained employment as VP of Sales for the Kentucky Lottery Corporation. I worked there for almost twenty years, achieving records sales on a consistent bases. However, as the direction of the company began to change and what I felt was a lack of confidence by upper management I decided it was time for me to leave. I checked with my financial planner who said I had enough funding set aside to retire comfortably. So at 65 I find myself retired once again.

 

My wife is happy with this decision. She was not rehired by the school board after being assigned to an inner city school, which provided little opportunity for her to achieve success, due to lack of resources and commitment. She never got started and when she asked to be relieved they terminated her versus transferring her. Anyway, that is another story. We now spend time together working on home projects, visiting new restaurants, and attending to the day to day drama of our children and grand children.

 

People have asked me what am I doing or plan to do in retirement and I tell them that I don't have any plans. Right now I am enjoying not getting up every morning and driving to a place of work. I can leisurely get up, have my coffee and read the morning paper. I have been working on a bathroom remodeling project, which I'm sure would not have been possible if I were still working. My major task is to make my wife happy. We have been on two trips so far, one to  Florida and one to Punta Cana, in the Dominican Republic. I can tell that my wife is anticipating many more trips in our future.

 

I guess the major problem for me is to make sure I can find productive things to do with my time. I don't play golf, so I guess walking and getting into a gym will be important moving forward, for my physical health. It has been 5 months since taking the plunge and so far I have been engaged and I am enjoying my retirement. Perhaps writing something in this blog regularly will become a part of my routine moving forward.