I spent some time during my career wondering about retirement. What would it be like? What do retired people do all day? How can they not be bored? 

When I started working, I shared space with a woman who was about to retire. She talked about wishing she had changed careers long ago but reached a point where she had so much time invested in the retirement system that she couldn’t leave. After listening to her for two years...I left!

I moved to the greatest job ever…until it wasn’t. I wondered to myself, why would people retire? I’d say, “This is the best job ever, why would I ever leave?” Then, I left.

I moved to the job where, for better or worse, I'd spend the rest of my career. There were times the job was a blast and I thought I’d just stay until I was too old to come to work anymore. There were times the job was not such a blast and I pulled out my spreadsheet of retirement account balances, years of service, and accumulated sick leave. I'd find web wisdom for how much money I'd need to retire and run scenarios in my spreadsheet. (It would be irresponsible not to note that our financial advisor rarely agreed with my scenarios.) There were times I was sure I'd be fired for being LGBTQ+ and times I was completely open and unafraid. There were times I looked forward to going to work and times there was nothing to do but update my spreadsheet. Then, I left.

Now…I’m a retirement aficionado. That’s right, l’ve been retired four days and I’m here to tell you what retired people do (but hold on, I have to get the puppy to stop chewing things in the bookcase). 

Now that I’m retired, I’m taking a class and am in a couple of working groups on the topic of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. DEI is a passion for me. I live in a transracial family and, the now teenager, is Black and has two White moms. For me, the class and the groups are important and fulfilling. Find your passion and find a way to work it. 

I put a lot of time into working my DEI passion so today feels a lot like a work day. Except for the part where I took a longer lunch break without worrying about getting back to “active” status on the computer in case someone was looking for me. That felt nothing like a work day. That felt glorious. 

It’s 2021 and the COVID-19 pandemic has worn out its welcome. Welcome or not, the kid is remote for school this week because she was potentially exposed to someone who tested positive. She and I had lunch together and talked about crackers. No, not the almond flour cheese cracker I was eating, the term used for White people. Kids say it sometimes and where did it come from anyway? 

So…that’s what retired people do…we look up the etymology of words like "cracker". Once we look them up and discuss them we text them to our friends. Because who wouldn’t be equally fascinated by what we learned? Also, I’m not going to lie, it’s a little bit because we’re retired and you’re not and we want you to know what a fascinating life we're living. 

In case you were wondering, I'm also diffusing the perfect oil combinations for the kid whose classroom is currently the kitchen and for myself in the office. Perhaps by Friday I’ll have time to alphabetize my oil collection and update my inventory. 

In other news, I’ve scooped the yard (dogs) and learned to do that pinch fold thing for t-shirts. I’ve walked a few extra miles and gathered all the documents needed to file taxes. I also got my braces off and am headed back to pick up my retainer later this afternoon. 

Stay tuned for the next fascinating episode of “Things Retired People Do”. 

It's Brenda, I'm out.

#retired #FIRE #DEI #EssentialOils #LOL