About Retirement - My Most Frequently Asked Question

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When catching up with family, friends, colleagues and acquaintances I have been amazed that the first question most frequently asked of me has been not ‘How are you?’ but ‘What’s it (retirement) like?’

My reply - ‘Delicious!’ It feels and tastes AMAZING, sweet, delectable…. delicious! Of all the wonderful words in the English language this one seems to best sum up what it's been like for me - and I can’t recommend it (retirement) enough!

The luxury of not being dictated to by the clock is, I believe, one of life’s greatest indulgences. I can read, pin on Pinterest (you can follow me! I am Marian Paleologos and found on Pinterest at http://pinterest.com/marianep/) or watch movies - until late, really late if I choose! I can wake up naturally each morning – usually somewhere between 8.30 and 9.00am, rather than reach for the dreaded 6.00am alarm.

John and I have enjoyed long lazy healthy home-cooked lunches under the brolly in the garden – which beats hands down bolted lunches – often of a dubious nature - on the run at work. I’ve been able to dust off the cookbook collection and try some new recipes. I really do love cooking!

If we want to hit the road - we can! If we want to drive in any direction for any amount of time – we can! This has generated another challenge for us – vehicles. We are currently reviewing our needs – I’ll keep you posted!

While we have time on our hands and can choose to use it as we wish an unexpected challenge has been keeping track of days! Having lived a life determined by the patterns of the school year I was surprised to find that I felt ‘all at sea’ without its structure. Tell me it’s Week 2 Term 2 and I know exactly where I am in the year. I’m struggling with knowing just the date and month – that doesn’t tell me anything – at least not yet!

I’m sure we’ll develop our own rhythms and routines as time goes by – until then the year planner I purchased from Officeworks is doing the trick!