9 months in
This is more or less the nine month anniversary of my retirement. Enough time for a baby to gestate and be born should be enough time to at least have some ability to examine the outcomes of an action. However I’m going to keep this very general and not focus on financial specifics.
The biggest change other than the retirement itself is that we have moved closer to family and into a more urban environment. Both have been positive changes. The new house means that more money is tied up in housing but the old house sold well and fast and we’ve switched to having only one vehical so the difference isn’t that huge on a month to month basis.
During the first nine months I hit a new lower weight goal and have maintained it. I haven’t exercised as much as I might like but I don’t feel too bad about it. My long term health issues are more or less unchanged although it is clear that I’m drinking less beer in retirement which is a good thing.
The negative thing would be that I am not doing as much directly related to my existing hobbies. Some of that is due to things such as selling one house, buying another and general readjustment after coming back to a situation that I knew was temporary. But the move is over and I should be moving closer to a permanent situation.
I have started to set things up to start working with wood and electronics in the way I have wanted to for years but I haven’t moved as fast as I would like. Instead I have procrastinated with research on new hobbies and falling back into my lifelong hobbies of consuming books and video games. Research, planning, reading, and general learning are things that I love doing. I don’t beat myself up over doing more of the things I enjoy. But I also enjoy making things and I need to make sure that I move towards making things and using the materials I have collected. even in the face of my doubts.I need to remember to include the artistic play in my retirement routine.