This is my first blog about retirement since signing off at Olin College on January 1. I am glad to report that all is going well. I have overcome many difficulties: I have adjusted to sleeping longer, having more time to myself and doing without daily pressures to get a lot of things done.

Seriously, it does take some adjusting. Previously, the pressures of work reduced personal time to evenings and weekends — but the knowledge that the time for personal projects was limited provided a certain drive to get those projects done. Now, it’s a little too easy to just say mañana, especially with the lack of commanding to-do lists.

Here is a status report on the things I thought I would be doing after retirement:

– Taking up the piano again – no
– Online classes – no
– Yoga – no
– Organizing CD collection – no
– Learning a new language – nein
– Getting life together – no

Really, the report on all of these should be “not yet.” The reasons I haven’t made progress on these projects are twofold: 1) I have been advised, and I think it’s good advice, not to dive into too many things at once and, 2) my days are fairly full. I am learning to compose music. I am involved in an effort to bring international businesses to the local area and increase connections with educators and entrepreneurs. I’m working with the local historical society as a board member. I’m doing some projects for Olin College. I participated in a Civics Bee. These activities fill up my days.

I start my mornings in a basement room that is warmer than the rest of the house — a welcome setting on these still-cold mornings. Sunlight filters in through the high windows. I play quiet classical music on the radio as I catch up on the day’s events and commentary. For a news junkie like me, this is heaven. Then I start my day.

In the greater amount of free time that exists around my various activities, there is also the opportunity to “go deeper” on passions and interests — to spend that extra time finding articles about a topic of interest, reading a poem, listening to a piece of music, having long conversations. In pre-retirement days, there was always an invisible clock ticking in the background that kept me moving along, making such deeper engagement difficult.

When I described my ‘going deeper’ concept to a colleague before I retired, she said, “Oh, you’re going to be going down rabbit holes.” I didn’t think that was exactly what I meant, but as I thought about it, it wasn’t a bad description of my plan. The thing is, there are good rabbit holes and bad rabbit holes. Good rabbit holes can lead to wonderland; bad ones are just a waste of time.

Good rabbit holes: the aforementioned extra time to read, research, enjoy music, become involved in community life and listen to people. I’ve always felt that by indulging your passions, and letting them take you where they may, you discover more about yourself and get closer to the place where your interests coalesce into a philosophy and approach to life. Bad rabbit holes: warring with your appliances.

Now I have to admit I haven’t gotten into doing a lot of housework since being retired, but the other day, I got out a portable electric vacuum to pick up some dirt on the kitchen floor. I am sure this vacuum company has made many fine products, but its Model 1189 cordless vacuum is not one of them. When it’s on, it makes a loud high-pitched whine kind of like a convention of dentists’ drills. While it does a decent job of picking up dirt, it’s really hard to empty. This is where my difficulties began.

Now in my previous life, I would have simply moved on and resolved to empty the vacuum later. But in my new, abundant-free-time life, I thought, “Well, I will take the opportunity to fix this thing.” But I could not for the life of me get the dirt canister off. I spent quite a few minutes twisting and pulling, and eventually got out tools to try to pry it off. Suddenly, unexpectedly, it flew off, dumping the dirt onto the just cleaned floor.

When things like this happen, I am tempted to believe inanimate objects possess a malevolent consciousness and are out to stymie me. What happened next lent credence to this theory. I reattached the canister, cleaned up the dirt and continued vacuuming, whereupon the canister suddenly ejected again, strewing dirt everywhere a second time.

Score one for the sweeper. And I’m left standing at the bottom of a rabbit hole that led only to roots and mud, staring at a small circle of sky high above.

For those of you who worry that I’m spending my time going down the bad rabbit holes, let me reassure you that most of my rabbit hole adventures have been of the good kind. But, to help distinguish between the good and bad rabbit holes, I have developed some do’s and don’ts that will help the recently retired have a high quality of life and avoid misadventures:

DO

– Develop a framework for every day—I try to experience learning, entertainment, time with friends and family, and transcendence each day. (Transcendence is a tricky one to check off every day, but, for me, it usually involves listening to music. As the weather improves, it might involve nature walks.)
– Create a to-do list and keep a calendar.
– Take a shower every day.
– Leave well enough alone.

DON’T

– Start binge watching YouTube.
– Keep checking the laundry to see if it’s done.

Well that’s my report on retirement two and a half months in. You’ll have to excuse me, I just saw a large rabbit running through the underbrush in my yard. I want to go check and see if he’s carrying a pocket watch.

Joe Hunter
March 2019