If you work for a company for 35 years and retire they have a dinner for you and buy you a gold watch, or a fishing rod – depending on how important you were. If you own a business you spend months, or maybe years, finding a buyer and negotiating details. You are done running the business one day but keep at it anyway, supervising staff that no longer work for you and advising new owners that know better than you what they want to do. Then a date comes when you pack the final box from your office and load it into the truck, shake hands with staff that don’t for a second think you’re really gone, and drive away.
You try and fit your work life into your home, with a husband who doesn’t want his stuff touched, and no one even really said good bye. You have some money in the bank but no pension so is it enough? It’s a very surreal way to retire, let me tell you.
I may or may not have retired today, but all I know is I came home alone and re-arranged the furniture to fit myself back into my home. My husband was slightly displaced and miffed but will likely get over it. It was a very quiet way to end a 15 year adventure into business ownership. It took me 15 minutes to find the damn vacuum cleaner. I knew where the office one was kept!
So now I am blogging from home and about 50% settled. I will wake up tomorrow without a job. My Facebook friends keep saying “now what?” I’ve never not worked so this will be cool. My writing above almost makes it sound like I am unhappy, but of course I’m thrilled.
So, to answer the question “now what?” – for the next few months I plan to concentrate on a very selfish agenda – me. I want to do a lot of walking, skiing, getting back in touch with old friends and blogging/ writing. I do have a job – No Limits has asked me to help them with the transition and I am happy to do so, but its not 24/7 like the old one was.
If anyone has any cool suggestions for “what now?” I’d be happy to hear them!
Update: It’s almost January 2024, 13 years since I sold Granite Internet. The burnout I was experiencing when I wrote this piece is almost forgotten. It turns out I was fully retired. No Limits decided they didn’t need me after all and I never again stepped into that office.
Life After Retirement
This entire Trail Lady blog is a testament to a well-lived early retirement. I seem to have invested well enough and spent most of my money and what I love to do, mostly travel.
Good health has followed me through this journey. For that I am always grateful. I have visited 25 countries and hiked hundreds of trails. From the Camino in Spain to the West Coast trail (three times), I could make a small mountain out of my worn out Keens hiking boots.
And I’m not done yet. With a winter home on Vancouver Island and a summer one in Manitoba, I have trails outside my door all year long. When I get bored of those there’s a whole world yet to explore. The Portuguese Camino is in my future this fall.
I no longer ask “what’s next?” I have no idea what’s next and I’m loving every minute of that sentiment. Stay tuned to the Trail Lady blog to find out. Subscribe if you haven’t already. Your guess is almost as good as mine.
