What's the best thing about retirement?

Not having to go back to work when you come back off holiday.
Having the whole family round for a big Sunday lunch then being able to have a very self indulgent day on Monday to recover.
Being able to take advantage of the weather from walking to drying washing on the line.

U3A have lots of groups, activities and interests for men.

The best thing about retirement is having the time to ACHIEVE!

Since I retired I have taught myself Canal Art and, along with my husband, taken our craft stall - Shabby Pots - to Festivals and Rallies. Not only do we get the satisfaction of selling our craft (our decorated horseshoes are a best seller) but you meet some fascinating people.

On one occasion we took our caravan with us and early the next morning walked around a deserted Fun Fair; popping in and out of the empty Craft Marquee in between mouthfuls of breakfast. It must be what running away with the circus feels like!

But my Piece de Resistance is the completion of my first full length book - a 412 page historical novel - Áine. amzn.to/1qMkmJK

Inspired by an entry from the 1881 Census that I believe may belong to my Great Grandfather from Ireland, I have taken the, by now fictitious family, Fitzgerald, back in time to that of the Great Famine in Ireland.

It is primarily a love story, albeit a tangled one when cousins Jeremiah and Breandán Fitzgerald find themselves in love with the same woman - Áine (pronounced Arn-ya)

I am currently working on the sequel with a third book in the pipeline but with a newly retired husband, time is not as forgiving as it once was. But that's another story ...

Many sound very busy. I enjoy being retired, but think I may be one of those people not terribly motivated to make the best use of time.

After three years retirement I still feel incredibly joy on Sunday evenings knowing I don't have to go to work the next day. I was a single (divorced) parent and had to work full time for over thirty five years to make ends meet. I was always knackered but I did achieve and was considered good at what I did and was promoted etc...but work was very stressful and the climate changed too, so I was very pleased to get out when I did. I suppose my work - and motherhood - did identify me.

Now, my children are adults and have lives of their own. We get together every now and then but trying to get them all to the one place at the same time is quite a feat. I realise it's up to me now to make the most of my retirement - but I find I am quite a slacker. I know I am not making the most of myself, my time, my days, and I do feel lots of niggling guilt. (Is this a little-felt emotion?)

I have to budget, but I don't mind that. I cannot take off on the holidays I'd like and many friends of a similar age have husbands and family and fairly active lives. We do get together occasionally, but we are not 'ladies who lunch' regularly

I think I am suffering from not having a routine or a job. It gave a structure to my days. I am quite a gregarious person, but not a 'joiner'. I know myself. If I have to be somewhere at the same time, same day every week I tend to drop out.

So, not being someone who finds housework fulfilling or fascinating, I have discovered in retirement that I can very easily waste my days doing nothing much and I find I am feeling guilty quite often. Does anyone identify with this?

However, they do say a day doing nothing much, if enjoyable, is not a day wasted. So, I'd say I NEED structure to my days but I tend to cop out of organising it and am not sure if I disapprove or not of a recently retired friend who almost has a weekly timetable of events she must attend/things she must do. It all seems rather rigid.

We're all different, but I think we agree that not having to rush out to work in the morning is absolute bliss.

I retire at the end of next month (October) and 90% of me can't wait. The other 10% is a bit anxious. Until I see how much money I have to live on I don't think I'll relax. However, the first thing I will do is to turn my alarm clock off.

I have already joined a local Rock Choir and I love it.

Everyone's posts have been really helpful and I look forward to meeting friends and using my bus pass for a more relaxed life style.

Petra you are a star. Not retired yet but finding it harder and harder to hold my tongue! Two and a half years to go!

not being ordered about by some idiot boss, for a start. not having to keep on going on silly courses when im trying to get my work done.u can go on and on .

A friend retired 3 years before me; like me, he'd done a long commute for years, and when I retired, he told me that the sweetest sound in the world was the sound of someone scraping their windscreen as you returned from the bathroom at 6am - he was right...!

Really great to hear all the good things about retirement, and I am looking forward to every one of them. I will be retiring from being a universitry lecturer at the end of this academic year. There's a bit of me that just wants to do absolutely nothing workwise thereafter, but it is possible I could negotiate a part time role. To help me decide it would be great to hear about the downsides of going from all to nothing or to a half-way position for a couple of years.

Day 6 (Hope I have your name right!) I too was a single parent for seven years, trying to make ends meet. Although my life is now full of things I want to do and find time to do, there are days when I just play Computer Scrabble, daydream and "potter".

If you are happy doing what you are doing/not doing - don't fight it. Just remember the days when some 20 something year old was standing on your head in order to make their way up the greasy pole. And all you could do was agree with them or lose your job!

Goodbye to the Dog-eat-Dog life. Hello Freedom!

Today it occurred to me, as I strolled by the local lake under a glorious blue sky, that the very best thing about being retired is not being tied to a timetable and workplace that impose restrictions on me when I would much rather be outdoors and soaking up the sunshine. In other words, retirement equals freedom!

I am lucky enough to still be fit enough to ride my horse and walk my large dog every day. Like Day6 I often feel a bit guilty that on some days that is all I do, apart from cooking an evening meal. Have recently joined Rock Choir so that is another half day gone and I enjoy time spent with my grand children. Only drawback is my huband is seven years younger than me and has three more years of work still to so. I do look forward to sharing much more time with him then. Just hope I stay fit and healthy to enjoy the best time of my life.

Up at 9,long dog walk,coffee with friend,FaceTime chat with son in Poland,vacced and mopped floors, 20 lengths at the pool,quick lunch,on here and now up to the stables for a hack over the moors in this glorious weather. Like Sillyoldfool I too am lucky to be in good health and with dogs and a horse I get lots of exercise .The best thing about retirement is that you can choose what and when you do things ,no more of trying to fit everything in. After 45 years of having to go to work it takes time to adjust to all the free time.Ive only been at it 4 years and it still feels like an extended holiday.