Do I Miss Working?
“Don’t cry because it’s over; smile because it happened.” — Dr. Seuss
I have now been retired for 5 years.
In that time, I have taken up writing, speaking, and teaching while spending lots of time kayaking, traveling and going to lots of sports and entertainment attractions.
On occasion I will be asked if I miss the working life which gives me pause to think. I read about past clients or people I have worked with whom I enjoyed being with. On those occasions I get a twinge about not still being involved. I enjoyed my work and most of those I dealt with.
Then, I realize that my life is different now and that part is over. And I think about the parts and the people I didn’t enjoy. So while working was a big part of my life, it wasn’t my life.
Retirement was certainly a big change for me.
I had a routine that I followed for most of my working years (40 plus). I got up at about the same time every day. I was always busy at work and dealt with many people. I traveled quite a bit and as a consultant my days were varied based on who I was with that day and what I was working on.
That all changed. Now when I wake up I have to decide what I will do for the day. I never just sit around. My routine is now different. Most times I have no place to be and there is certainly no client or project to occupy my time.
And then we moved.
While living in Northeastern Pennsylvania for over 40 years, my wife and I have moved some 1,300 miles away to Florida, a place we visited little and where we knew no one. We didn’t even have friends to fall back on if we got lonely.
The good thing is that we are not sedentary people. We get out and explore our surroundings to learn what is where. We also like to find and explore new things. So that is exactly what we have done once we unpacked (What a chore) and were settled.
We also joined things. My wife has been with the RedCross for 20 years. She found the local office and jumped right in. She also found other things to volunteer with and got involved in lots of activities.
As for me, I wrote that book that I always said I was going to.
Not only did I write one, but two. It took time but both are done and published and have done quite well on Amazon.
I also joined the local Chamber of Commerce and the Manufacturers Association. I got to meet various people and made some great connections.
We have both joined clubs in our development and met more people who we went to activities and dinner with. Included was the Kayak Club and we now kayak with others 5 or 6 times each tear.
“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” — A.A. Milne, “Winnie The Pooh”
There are plenty of other things to do.
We have lots of sports teams nearby (Rays, Bucs and Lightning) all competitive and doing well. There are plenty of fairs and festivals to visit. And there is lots of top notch entertainment (recently saw Celine Dion and Billy Joel in concert).
So we stay very busy for sure. With all of this activity, it is hard to imagine how I could still be working fulltime.
There are times I miss the interaction with clients and those I worked with. After 40 years of being in the working world you get used to be around and with people. But I am in a new chapter in my life and while now and again I have those missing feelings, I get over it quickly as I move on to the next activity.
So, in the end, I do not miss working. It was a part of my life that has passed and I am now on to a new phase.
“Sunsets are proof that endings can be beautiful.” — Beau Taplin
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Peter H. Christian was a founding partner and president of espi, a business consulting firm in Northeastern PA. Previously he was an Executive at Crayola Corporation. He has worked with 300+ clients in business development, profit improvement, operations, IS selection and implementation, and Project Management. He has 40+ years of experience in strategic and facility planning, CI, lean, and supply chain. He has helped companies to realize millions of dollars in cost reductions and profit improvements adding and retaining thousands of jobs. He has authored the Amazon bestselling business books, “What About the Vermin Problem?” and “Influences and Influencers” (4 out of 4 star review on Online Bookclub) and is published in a variety of professional magazines. He is most appreciative of Dr. Rodney Ridley and Donald Schalk of the O’Pake Institute, Alvernia University for their support in allowing him to teach this important course
