I’m retiring from my job of 35 years during the month of May. Everyone keeps congratulating me, but secretly, I am terrified. What am I going to do with my time and how do I learn to be happy without working?
Signed,
Restless Robert
Dear Restless Robert,
Don’t worry! I’ve got all kind ideas for you!
First of all, do you have a wife? If so, I’m sure she is a pro at bossing you around and can create a honey-do list that will last you for months. But once that’s done, here are some projects to keep you occupied:
• Start in the garage by organizing and cleaning up your toolshed or workshop. It will
inspire you to start a new spring project and keep you busy with you hands.
• Buy a power washer and clean the entire exterior of the house and windows.
• Freshen up the entry way of the house with some fresh, cheerful paint on the front
door and plant some new flowering shrubs.
• Go through your storage areas and weed out things you no longer need. Create
a pile for a garage sale. Put those grandkids to work selling it all and give them the
proceeds for a college fund.
• Sort through all the clothes in the closets and make a bag to donate to a local charity.
• Dig into your finances, review your retirement funds, and create a realistic monthly
budget.
• Discover a new kind of exercise that you really enjoy, or take a class to learn
something new at the local college.
I hope this helps and remember: Spring is the time for planning and projects! Enjoy yourself!
Love,
Henrietta
Henrietta Craven was born and raised in New Bern and enjoys gardening, hunting bears and improvisational dance. She is a self-proclaimed expert on a wide variety of subjects including (but not limited to) fashion, mixology, and cooking. Henrietta resides in a lovely Victorian home in downtown New Bern with her five cats: Graffenreid, Bethune, Devereux, Stanton and Carraway.