Rainy old March morning. The promise of Spring is everywhere.

I used to sit at work and dream about being home with my whole day in front of me. I thought of the many things I could be doing. Don’t get me wrong. I loved my work. It was very busy and it had a great sense of fulfillment. My last job was teaching marketing and management to High School kids. Very satisfying. I felt ( and still do) that I was giving some back. My first students are in their early 30’s. They are doing life (marriage, spouse, kids, house, career, etc. etc.). and it’s fun to keep in touch. I feel “ I gave something back”. Something that I learned in my early career stops.

But, now to retirement talk. Many, many folks responded to my first blog. Most wanted to talk about time (too much of it) , the guilt of feeling like they’re not accomplishing anything and their lack of structure.

A Sense of Oughtness is difficult to deal with. It’s 8 and I ought to be at work. It’s Tuesday at 9 and I ought to be in the weekly department meeting. You know…years and years of routine became a habit. Oh, have I put in for my vacation yet?

Now my time is my time. My 24.

What am I going to do today?

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We are about retirees. We”re about old people.

Have you been searching for a site that talks about retirement, retirement plans or common problems/solutions to every day for everyday life. Casual Life has emerged as an answer to a life that suddenly contains a lot of time. In my own search I kept finding sites that had great, and not so great, plans for investing my money before I retired. Very little info on how to spend my day.

MY 24

I stumbled across a concept that I feel we all have encountered but were very rarely prepared for. Freedom! For the first time in my life someone wasn’t telling me where to be, what time to be there and what to do. No parents, no teachers, no professors, no sergeants, no bosses and no customers-they were gone! Schedules, calendars and days of the week became less demanding. I named this new phenomenon “My24“.

After years and years of structure there was very little. Golf 365 days a year seemed daunting (I do have some friends that tried though). I have a little better in-sight into the Hardee’s or McDonalds breakfast crowd. On Friday there were meetings, schedules, sales, budgets, decisions and responsibilities…on Monday retirement. Nothing but a casual second cup of coffee, reading or watching the news. Or, I can go back to bed. It’s my 24 hours.

Days becomes weeks. Weeks become months. The Warrior is no longer needed. What now. What do I do with “My 24”?

This is what we’re gonna talk about. My 24.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton