The Retired Life

I’ve got a neighbour who has been retired for many years. Sadly, a couple of years ago his wife of many, many years died a relatively sudden death. Since then he has lived the life of an elderly bachelor.

About a year ago he told me he thought he needed a “girlfriend”. I told him to get a dog. And he did. However, none of this really matters to the rest of his story so, I will get on with it.

The long and short of it is that my neighbour is one of those people who actually did “throw out the alarm clock” when he retired. He wakes up when it is light and he goes to sleep in the evening when it is dark. He lives a life that cycles with nature, totally naturally. It is so cool.

He absolutely enjoys his retirement. He does as he pleases. I often stop in to say hello to him on Tuesday mornings. Typically Tuesday is garbage day and I like to help him make sure his garbage and green can are out to the curb.

After our garbage can duties are done he invites me into his home. We will sit int he kitchen and he offers me a cup of coffee or a beer. Seeing as I am usually working on Tuesday mornings I choose the coffee. He then sits down with a can of Budweiser.

I remember the first time he sat down at the his kitchen table with me at 7am with a can of beer. I must have had an expression of horror or shock on my face. He laughed and told me, “I’m not going anywhere and I feel like having a beer.” So he did.

What do you want to do when you retire? Are you really going to throw the alarm clock out the window?