What does 'retirement' mean to you, {{contact.first_name}}?

Jan 15, 2022 9:40 pm

Hello !

In November, 2021, Mr. Bloom and I celebrated the 15th anniversary of our first date.

I remember a great deal about that lunch—from exactly what he wore (a Hawaiian short over waffled long underwear) to how bad the sushi was! As far as the conversation, the one thing that stands out most is that he told me he was planning to retire as soon as possible from his government job. He was thinking a couple of years.

He'd been with the feds his entire career, joining straight our of university. Sadly, the job he'd been in for well over a decade was not bringing him joy and, at the tender (naïve!) age of 44, he was already talking about retirement as if it was something he could see on the horizon. He didn't say 'quit' or 'find something new' he said and held fast to 'retirement' as his way out.

I, on the other hand, loved my job and at age 40 could not imagine ever wanting to stop the work I was doing with not-for-profits.

Fast forward to today, January 2022...

On the 28th of this month, that long-held retirement dream Mr. Bloom has been clinging to for over 15 years will finally become reality! In two weeks he will become a man of leisure—well, a man who has more time to tend his garden, make crafty wood projects, cater to our emotionally needy husky and bake homemade bread for me! Mmmm, bread...

I, on the other hand, could not be farther from thoughts of stopping work. I still love how I spend my days (and often hours into the night) and can't imagine giving up my keyboard without a fight.

This week, for instance, I had the idea to turn images from the romance lover's coloring books I created into fun merchandise, like coasters and notebooks and... my favourite item of all—an A-line dress featuring a tortured demon!

Now, I'm firmly in middle age and this dress is more appropriate for a 20-something to wear. But one of the things I was most happy about on that first date with Mr Bloom, was to learn that even though he worked in a job where the expectation was he'd wear a suit, he didn't care about appearances.

It's a great gift to have a spouse who lets me dress like a goof and still wants to hold my hand in public.

The trick, I think, in the weeks after Mr. Bloom is on permanent holiday and I'm still at my desk 8-12 hours a day, will be how to keep him from becoming frustrated that I'm not available to goof off with him in the middle of the day...

If you've weathered one spouse retiring and the other continuing to spend their days focused on work, I would love your tips for keeping us both happy.

Some book love from friends who'll never retire!

FREE!

Star Date (not too distant future)

Brandon is a diehard Trekkie.

Phoenix is looking forward to her first Star Trek convention—until she meets Brandon.

Phoenix and Brandon keep running into each other, each time more heated than the next. With three days of convention to get through, will they get past the hostility and find what they know is there—attraction and perhaps even love?