Before this week is out, I will be unemployed. It is not as bad as it might have been, since I am old enough to have two separate retirement incomes coming in: one for civil service and one for the naval reserve. So, all things considered, I am luckier than many others in that I can afford to live on the money I have without worrying about paying the mortgage, utilities and taxes, etc. But there are challenges ahead and I am not sure how I will cope with them. For one thing, my third and final retirement is not of my choice, but due to government “efficiencies” that have lead to the cancellation of my company's defense contract. (Technically speaking, the government just failed to exercise the latest option year on my multi-year contract and let my time run out, but the effect is the same.)
So far, I have tried to lay out, at least in my head, what I will do with myself. Besides the many projects fixing up our house, I am going through the motions of looking for another job - either another defense contractor position, consulting, teaching or something. I hope to get serious about my writing, but I am determined that I will do that whatever turns up. The point is that I need to be doing something to keep myself engaged. I have heard of too many who have just stopped living when they retired, just withering away because they assumed that is what you do.
There are turning points in every stage of life and each has its own stresses, but each can have its own new beginnings. You may feel that you are about to take a leap into the unknown, but think of how bracing that wind can feel on your face.
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