This year, 2013, I finally have my ducks in a row. Well, I think I do anyways. I turned 55 last year. There were no black balloons and no black birthday cards. Just a few hugs and kisses and a nice dinner on the back deck. It was three years ago, back in October 2009, I got the layoff package and I “retired”. It was meant to be – but not what I wanted it to be.
Oh – now I get a special rate on coffee at the pancake house in the next town. Pancakes usually give me acid, so I usually only order coffee. Coffee usually gives my wife acid. So she eats the pancakes and I drink the coffee. The last time we were there, I noticed a sign that said, “Ask about our over 55 discounts.” The waitress wanted to see my drivers license and then told us about the over 55 discounts. My wife said she was flirting with me, but I didn’t notice. Poeple always tell me that I look like I am in my late forties. Maybe I should subtract 10 years from my real age and pretend that I am 47 and not 57.
Last summer, in 2012, my wife ran into my old boss and my wife said that she, my old boss, was actually nice to her (my wife). They exchanged pleasantries and my old boss asked how I was (“Fine.”) and asked what I was doing (“He’s working on a study course on investments and how to pick stocks that go up.”) “He was always pretty good at that.”, she admitted. “Do you know how much he is going to charge for it?”. “He’s probably going to charge around $47 or $49 a month. Something reasonable”, she said. She asked if I was doing any retirement planning for younger people and my wife answered that I was.
When she got home, almost as an after thought, she said she ran into “TSB”. I laughed and said, “Really?, What is she up to?” TSB was the name that my wife gave to my boss when it was just the two of us talking. She never used the initials when we were with anyone else, just between us. TSB is kind of like SOB, only the TS stood for That Stupid B. You probably get the idea. My wife was always PO’d that she got the director job and not me.
Anyway she told me all of the above and when she told me that now I was doing retirement planning for younger people, I sat down on the couch and had a good laugh. My wife said “What’s wrong with that? You can add it to your bucket list!” To be honest, I have quite a few things on my bucket list. And, all but one, I have added myself. Now my wife is helping to add stuff. I’ll probably never complete the bucket list.
She said I was a natural teacher. “All the kids at the sand lot listen to you when you coached softball last summer over there.” “Over there” was the sand lot that Rick Martinez donated to the town as long as the town didn’t sell it for development. It was supposed to have been a sports park or somethng like that before the economy went south. The neighborhood kids turned it into a place for pick up softball games and I watched the games and then coached a little last summer. It was fun and it got me out of the house and into a little sunshine and fresh air.
I heard it a lot – “You need to get away from those stocks on the computer and get outside. All you do is sit in front of the computer and watch the tape. Go take a walk or something.” With all of the snow this winter, I haven’t been getting out much. I’ll be glad when spring comes and we start playing ball again.
For Taking Early Retirement (TER), I hope you are enjoying a great retirement or are close to that day!
Jeremiah John
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