My husband retired this past February. We are nearly 70 years old, so I would say it is time to end that phase of our lives.

What I would also say though is that it has struck me in ways I never really thought about. Such as, how do I describe my husband when people ask me about him? For nearly fifty years I would say, He is in Telecommunications, in Sales. Now what do I say?

The usual remark, He’s retired suffices, I suppose. He was so good at his job that that answer just does not seem enough. Is that what it is? Too simplistic? I’m not sure I know yet.

We purchased a couple rental properties years ago. Because he traveled so extensively, I managed them. By Gods good grace, they both were vacant this summer, and now my husband is the Property Manager.

I stay out of them entirely. He seems to enjoy this new responsibility, and I am grateful. They fill the void retirement created, as one of the properties needs a good deal of fix-up.

The other issue is just being retired. How odd it is to simply say that. The paycheck has stopped, period. That is big. Life is different in retirement. It is a whole new ballgame that I am still trying to figure out. We both are for that matter. Filling our time, paying bills, how to manage our household and farm, are just a few of the big questions to answer.

I recall a finance man I listened to for years over the radio, Dan Celia, who passed away in 2022, saying that retirement depends on what one has built over the years, because eventually the paycheck stops. Boy, does it. It is what one has built and saved that carries into retirement. I am thankful, so thankful we took his advice. It has made all the difference in these, our retirement years. I believe we shall get adjusted to this new phase of life just fine.

Here is an adage to surely live by: