Is Retirement All It’s Cracked Up To Be?

So Whale Nation, many of us are getting to that age where we're slowing down just a bit. I feel it from time to time. Things I used to do without a thought, I now weigh whether it's worth doing it myself or calling someone in to do the work instead.

Over the winter, one of the days we had strong winds, a few panels of siding blew off my house, and ice buildup caused one area of my gutters to come down along with the piece of wood it was attached to. Now there's a hole where the squirrels can get into and call my attic their place to bed down for the night.

Normally, I'd grab the ladder, climb up on the roof and make the repairs myself, but I'm just getting to that point in life that it's more of a pain everywhere in my body to do the work, and easier to call a professional to take care of the problem.

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I've noticed lately that many of my former co-workers, friends and relatives who are around my age, have been announcing their retirement. I have to admit, I'm a bit jealous. Isn't retirement what we all work toward in life?

For myself, I'm not so sure. I love doing what I do. Working in radio for over 40 years now, have been a real pleasure. There's always something different happening and new experiences to enjoy. Even if I do retire someday, I think I'd still need to work part time as long as I am able to. Make a few extra bucks and keep active. My fear is retiring and getting real bored doing nothing day in and day out.

When I have brought up in conversation with my mom how good it must be to be retired and that I can't wait, she responds that retirement isn't what's it's cracked up to be. I guess you have to be retired to understand. Maybe someday I will, if the grim reaper doesn't get to me first.