What Retirement Feels Like

Tomorrow, it will be two months since Scot and I officially retired. Perhaps because we started this new phase with a trip ( which we’re still very much in the middle of), nothing felt very different. We were using the word retired to describe our new status, but it was like when you’re on the highway and cross the border from one state to another: you expect things to look immediately different, but it takes a while until they actually do.

Now that we’ve been based in Auckland for a solid month and aren’t getting up every day to go to work, the retirement thing is finally starting to sink in. However, because it’s full summer down here, what it reminds me most of is those glorious days of summer vacation when school is out, and you have that luxurious sense of endless time before school begins again. We’re also very near Auckland University, and seeing the students during the mornings and afternoons reminds me of that incredibly exciting time when you first go off to college and the world seems breathless with possibility. In short, I feel young again.

Scot and I are trying to stay active. We’re both doing new writing, and I’ve even got a new manuscript roughly done; Scot has started his follow- up to Tarantella. We could hardly have picked a better spot to kick off this new life than Auckland. It’s a lovely city with lots to do and see; we’re also looking forward now to moving south and seeing more of this incredible country. Again in short, both retirement and New Zealand feel just right.