Planning to Live in Retirement Edition 13: Young Mindset and Aging

     

Not me but doesn't she look great! Goals. Photo by Vlada Karpovic. www.pexels.com

     Sleep has still been elusive but I'm trying anything to get good sleep. Sleep is vital to feeling ready for everything thrown at me and everything I'm willingly planning to take on starting this week as a retired person. I appreciate the blogs by the wide range of you that consider yourself retired. You come from all corners of the globe, backgrounds, family differences, and resources. You vary in physical capacity and available resources, whether your own savings, work pensions, government savings plans, or options I know nothing about. Many of you still work in some capacity, maybe as hard as you did before you considered yourself retired. You've paved a way for me to try and live a good life and do the things my work life interfered with. 

     The biggest lesson I've been trying to absorb is accepting that yes, I'm getting older, but my mindset can be young. Rising with the sun, or before, breathing deeply, and being thankful for the day ahead is my goal. Grief still occupies a lot of my head space, and likely always will. Yet, I have responsibilities to my kids, my extended family, and my friends to try and move forward. I am responsible for managing my health so I'm not creating a burden for them all. I'll also maximize my appreciation of life if I stay fit and get health and wellness needs handled as they arise and not play the martyr.

     The knee replacement was step one. I still have aches and pains here and there (standing for long periods of time still is a trigger), but being able to walk for long periods of time, bend down and up and not writhe in pain at night has been wonderful. The hip that was flaring up is being managed with stretches, or  ice and Tylenol if really needed. Next up, my hearing aid fitting and tuning on April 9th. I'm looking forward to not missing out on parts of conversations, not getting distracted because the noise clutter in the back distorts my focus, and not having to watch everything with Closed Captions. 

     I've still got weight to lose, but I think with less work stress, more time to move all day, physically active past times, and better diet, I should be healthier overall, with or without the excess weight. Getting stronger or at least maintaining what strength I have is crucial. Basically, I know I'm growing older, but want to feel young at heart. I'd love a good night's sleep though. Maybe Tuesday night.


Comments

  1. BelindaApril 6, 2025 at 8:18 AM

    I don’t want to be a burden to my child either and have worked hard in the last two years towards that goal. It’s so nice to be able to slip my shoes on without feeling pain in my knees. Less stress definitely helped me with my weight loss and I hope it will you too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SAMApril 7, 2025 at 11:00 AM

      The girls have more patience for me...my son, not so much. But, he's also the one that pushed me to take full advantage of the PT, and didn't baby me.

      Delete
  2. Cheryl KimbleyApril 6, 2025 at 8:57 AM

    It is amazing how busy one can stay when retired. BUT saying that, I find it a good busy. A busy I can choose some of. Less stress with work, sure did help my health situation and my mindset. Hope it helps you as well. Take some time to decide what you want "retired" life to be. Have a good week.

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    Replies
    1. SAMApril 7, 2025 at 11:01 AM

      No doubt I've got enough in the house and yard for months. It's social connectedness I'm worried about keeping.

      Delete
  3. AnonymousApril 6, 2025 at 9:39 AM

    I think focusing on your health for the reasons you describe makes a ton of sense. I would like to lose the last 10-15 lbs before I turn 50 (in 2026). I know those 10-15 lbs weigh me down (literally & figuratively), so I would like to gift myself better health.

    Looking forward to hearing about what you get up to in retirement. And, I agree, it's inspiring to hear how other people use their time. - Hawaii Planner

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    Replies
    1. SAMApril 7, 2025 at 11:02 AM

      Weight loss is ideal, but getting stronger is a minimal goal for me. I just don't have it anymore.

      Delete
  4. JuhliApril 6, 2025 at 11:34 AM

    Being able to move without pain is a great outcome! Glad the knee replacement was so successful and is allowing you to be more active.

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    Replies
    1. SAMApril 7, 2025 at 11:02 AM

      It was so hard to lay in bed before...just throbbing. It's such a new feeling as my knee was bad for so long.

      Delete
  5. AprilApril 6, 2025 at 1:18 PM

    Less work stress alone will be a huge boost to feeling better and stronger.

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    Replies
    1. SAMApril 7, 2025 at 11:03 AM

      I hope so. Something came up this morning and I already got to say, professionally of course, not my problem.

      Delete
  6. SharonApril 6, 2025 at 4:31 PM

    It sounds like you are in the right mindset. I think sleep will come when life evens out a little bit. I'm looking forward to reading about your retirement journey.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SAMApril 7, 2025 at 11:04 AM

      I sure hope sleep come back. I'm going to dial back the melatonin to just 5mg tonight.

      Delete
  7. LindaApril 6, 2025 at 6:00 PM

    I think good, restorative sleep is the key to healthy responses.

    ReplyDelete
  8. CelieApril 6, 2025 at 7:32 PM

    You've figured out what matters for you. You'll do well in retirement. I wouldn't be surprised that you get that much needed sleep soon after your last day of work.

    ReplyDelete
  9. VixApril 7, 2025 at 12:13 PM

    She is gorgeous, isn't she?
    Just a thought. Have you a Buddhist Centre nearby? They often run meditation courses - and often for free - I never thought anything would still my busy brain but the breathing techniques I learnt work wonders when I have a restless night! xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SAMApril 7, 2025 at 3:31 PM

      I'm not really in a culturally diverse religion area- more like Swedish Lutheran or Norwegian Lutheran. But, I have seen meditation courses offered in various community ed brochures.

      Delete
  10. ElleApril 8, 2025 at 7:42 AM

    Early retirement has arrived! (reading this on 4/8). You may well find the sleep comes more easily without work stress. I slept an unheard of 9-11hours nightly for 6 weeks! Then I leveled out to 8h most nights. Sleep experts say 1: 7 is rather natural for a light sleep night.

    Now is the time to focus on YOU! Being in your best condition is the best way to care for your family as well. Daily activity, will bring your knee back faster than anything. I highly recommend finding methods to restore balance at this point. I could NOT get it back and concern about future falls took me to a class designed specifically for seniors. Now I take cardio that has balance work during the cooldown. And we get the double whammy since Estrogen has dropped off the planet and puts bone at risk. I realized 18months out of my 2nd knee that I had finally achieved feeling physically 30 again. And THAT led to now being 60# lighter over 3 years.

    Hang in there!

    ReplyDelete

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