Buckets and Monkeys:

Now that I have a retirement date and the processes have begun I am faced with the dilemma, and the question posed to me often over the last few months: “What are you going to do?”

Inevitably whenever this statement is asked it is accompanied by the observation that:

• Many postal retirees seem to die within a short time after retirement.
• Many retirees discover they still have to work to make ends meet.
• Most new retirees never realized how bored they would be, the drawbacks of inactivity, or the loneliness of being ‘home alone’

So let me nip those observations in the bud real quick:

1. Those retirees are usually remembered as the ones who shouldn’t have retired, the implication being they died from inactivity, boredom or loneliness. My response to that is “Oh hell no!”
   I’m retiring early to save my health and if I’m to late don’t anyone say I shouldn’t have retired. Quite the contrary, please shout from the rooftops that I should have retired sooner.  

   Me and my grand-niece Shylin. One of my favorite people.

2. If I have to go to work to make ends meet that’s OK with me; I’m not retiring because I’m afraid of work, I’m retiring because of where I work, my health and to lock in food, rent and healthcare for the rest of my live.
3. Home alone doesn’t scare me. I cherish the idea. Inactivity will be the least of my worries. I have a bucket list that has been in development for 2-3 years now. (see below)
   Already my niece has called me to see if I can pick up my grand-niece from youth camp over the summer and that’s what I’m talking about… “I love my nieces to pieces“.
   
   Grand nieces are the next best thing to grand-kids, of which I don’t have any, and a little better than grand-puppies, of which I have one. “Luv you Kira!”

What am I going to do?

I have two responses to that:

1. My bucket list = What I’m going to do.
2. My monkey list = What I’m not going to do.

My Bucket List

My Monkey List

My bucket list is a list of things I want to do to fulfill my remaining years, goals to accomplish, and a motivational tool to keep me from becoming sedentary, lonely or uninspired. My monkey list is a list of things that will no longer restrict my life, frustrate me, diminish me and will serve as a motivational tool to help me appreciate and enjoy my retirement.

So where is my bucket list and monkey list? In my head of course. I will list them here in this journal over the coming months, years, eternity? As I looked forward to retirement over the last few years the list have grown and they will continue to grow as I enter retirement. The monkey list will probably ‘decay’ out after a year or two but the bucket list will always grow. There’s always something else to do. Even as things are checked of the list other things will be added.

Of course there will be obstacles: health, money, etc., but as long as there’s time left on my clock there will be a bucket list.

That’s what this journal is about. The bucket list, monkey list, the obstacles, what works and what doesn’t, as well as how retirement itself is working out. Did I go to soon (probably)? Did I plan appropriately (probably not)?

The why of this journal is simple: The item at the top of my bucket list before I even had a bucket list was to write more. Writing is something that I have loved since the later years of high school. Previous to that my first love was reading. It was my escape. As a middle child in a dysfunctional family I was an introvert and a loner. Reading was my escape and writing became the foundation for where I could escape to. My imagination was my sanctuary.

Unfortunately, my creativity had been limited to day dreaming, which along with other circumstances led to me being a sub-standard student. This was all to often reflected in my writing which drove me further into being a loner as I accepted the fact by reconciling myself to writing for one reader, me. I have sought over recent decades to address my grammatical, mechanical and spelling shortcomings but to little improvement.

While I intend to address these shortcomings through my bucket list I will also initiate ‘writing more’ through this journal. A diary of my retirement activities that, if anyone else does read, will hopefully provide some enjoyment. I welcome anyone who may wish to contribute to this journal either through the comment sections or through their own written contributions.¹ Maybe those of us who are already retired can provide insights for those approaching retirement.

1  Proof reading comments, corrections and suggestions will be appreciated, please email them to me at indianaglenn@gmail.com