Life can happen so fast

[Aussiecat]

You have to smell the roses along the way. Live with no regrets.

[Weezer]

A promise to myself:

I choose to live with intense passion, experiencing every facet of life available to me, lest I look back over my lifescape and discover that the time I spent on this planet wasn't actually lived at all.

One of my co-workers was one of those who kept putting off retirement, though she was well past the qualifications to do so, and her DH was already retired as well.

When she finally did retire, she was gone inside six months due to lung cancer, totally undetected until two months before her death.

Those of us who worked side by side with her for so many years all expressed the sadness of her having forfeited all those years she could have spent with her already retired husband.

Another co-worker kept putting off retirement, her DH was also retired for years. He husband was diagnosed with lung cancer and passed away before she could complete her retirement papers. Yes, she finally retired, but she's without her soul mate with her to enjoy it.

The day I qualify for retirement I'm OUTTA there! Even though DH is (ahem) a tad younger than me and will be retiring later, I will not "hang in there" until he retires.

[B47]

Originally Posted by Weezer

A promise to myself:

I choose to live with intense passion, experiencing every facet of life available to me, lest I look back over my lifescape and discover that the time I spent on this planet wasn't actually lived at all.

One of my co-workers was one of those who kept putting off retirement, though she was well past the qualifications to do so, and her DH was already retired as well.

When she finally did retire, she was gone inside six months due to lung cancer, totally undetected until two months before her death.

Those of us who worked side by side with her for so many years all expressed the sadness of her having forfeited all those years she could have spent with her already retired husband.

Another co-worker kept putting off retirement, her DH was also retired for years. He husband was diagnosed with lung cancer and passed away before she could complete her retirement papers. Yes, she finally retired, but she's without her soul mate with her to enjoy it.

The day I qualify for retirement I'm OUTTA there! Even though DH is (ahem) a tad younger than me and will be retiring later, I will not "hang in there" until he retires.

So the day you "qualify for retirement I'm OUTTA there". A nice plan and I'm hoping you can and do if you can.

However I'll just toss out how my retirement plan and actual retirement plan differed.

As most of you know,I'm a retired FAA inspector with a total of 41 years total federal service time,the last 31 years with the FAA. As such I was very pleased with my career and went up the ranks rather quickly and obtained a very grade rather early in my career which enabled me to retire with a rather generous pension - so money or medical insurance was never a factor with the DW or myself in discussing retirement.

I never had a lot of outside hobbies (never woke up every morning wish I was on the golf course instead of having to go to office,etc) - not a total nothing but work person,but retirement wasn't something I wanted to put any serious thought into.

Then I looked at the calandar one day and decided to just take a look back of my career time and between Social Security (which I started collecting at 65) and my potential Goverment pension,I was almost working for nothing.

So I retired.

My point here is some people start planning for their retirement the day they start working and others don't.

If you have a plan in place,then go for it. If you don't have a plan,start one.

IMO it's not easy to go into retirement "Cold Turkey" - at least not for me.

[richardwise]

On Sept 29, 2008, I lay along the road after a motorcycle accident, surprised I was still alive, but knew I was going to die. At the last moment, I heard my deceased dad tell me I would never see my granddaughter again. That kept me going until the doctors worked a miracle on me. Four years later, I retired the day I turned 62. Those four years seemed endless. You never know from one second to the next, so enjoy every second.

[OldCoot]

TOWTA didn't retire, she just quit when she was 58 and I could have retired in July of 05@ 65, but loved working for Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. Nov 05, I had what was later explained to me as 5 heart attacks. The 5th one was severe enough that I woke TOWTA up and told her I think I need to go to the hospital. Got there @ 5:30 am and at 7:30 I was in recovery with a stint. Retired Jul06 and have not looked back. I enjoyed working, but enjoy retirement even more. Still trying to sleep past 6am, but really enjoy not getting dressed until around 8am-10am. We do what we want, when we want.

[RhoZeta]

Originally Posted by OldCoot

TOWTA didn't retire, she just quit when she was 58 and I could have retired in July of 05@ 65, but loved working for Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. Nov 05, I had what was later explained to me as 5 heart attacks. The 5th one was severe enough that I woke TOWTA up and told her I think I need to go to the hospital. Got there @ 5:30 am and at 7:30 I was in recovery with a stint. Retired Jul06 and have not looked back. I enjoyed working, but enjoy retirement even more. Still trying to sleep past 6am, but really enjoy not getting dressed until around 8am-10am.

Hey a fellow LM employee! I work for Aero in FW, F-35/F-16 flight line.

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[Oaklevel]

Everyone has a story........ Our son's close friend lost his wife just before last Christmas (Our friends too) She was 8-9 months pregnant with their 3 child. Jane had a cold & went to the Dr. He admitted her to the hospital & went ahead & delivered the baby boy by C section...... she, a couple days later went into a coma & died less than a week later...... thinking she had a cold to start off..... She was 28 years old.... Now she is gone Trey is raising a infant, an 18 month, and a 4 year old.............. How he can possibly afford it I have no idea...... he is about 28 also.


Me on the other hand investigate employees that go to work & full well expect to go home that night & don't.......... Not counting vehicle accidents there are at least 50 employees that die in workplace accidents annually just in Virginia. So it is nice to get away camping........

Enjoy life while you can as mentioned we are not promised tomorrow....

[pacin]

Everyone seems to have a story that can relate to yours. I had a brain aneurism (spelling?) on the first day of buck season in Pa. in 2001. Long story short, I am still hunting and have 5 wonderful grandkids. I was one of the very fortunate ones, no side effects other than losing my sense of taste. One would think that would make it easier for my fat ass to lose weight. But no. Anyway, everyday is a blessing, and I will wager you will be a great dad.

[BigBaron]

Sorry to hear all the bad news. My friend Alden had a brain aneurysm in a supermarket when he was 21.
The doctor said he was dead before he even hit the floor. That was a wake up call for our entire neighborhood.
Take care of yourselves everyone.

[sunnygirl01]

My dad dropped dead at work two years ago at the age of 56. Then this January his brother's wife was sitting in her recliner and made a grunting noise and passed away. They both died of heart related issues without any previous issues or indications. My husband turned 51 yesterday. It was all such a big eye opener for me.
It made me think about a lot of things. I also realized the value of life insurance after watching my Uncle nearly lose everything on top of having to deal with losing the love of his life.
Life truly is too short and tomorrow is not guaranteed so live fully today.

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[Eklc]

I was just thinking of all the stuff that needs done around our seasonal site when I read your post. I'm going to put the tools away and go play frisbee with the kids.

[gmacklem]

Wow, quite a sobering thread to read this morning. I think almost everyone can relate to these stories. My MIL died of lung cancer at 51, a year later my mom was killed in a car wreck at 56. One of the owners of a small company I worked for years ago died in his recliner at 38. One of my coworkers and his brother were killed in a car wreck before they were to attend a Tennessee football game.

It seems so unfair that there is only one way into this world and a million ways out. That is why I try to walk the fine line between spending it all now and having nothing if I make it to retirement and saving it all now and then not making it to retirement. I got my first camper on Memorial Day weekend last year and traded it for a bigger one a few weeks ago. I want to enjoy whatever life I have left. Even though I am a Christian and know where I will be once I am gone, I am not in a hurry to get there. I have a lot of things I would like to see and do here first but I know once I get to the other side, it won't matter whether I did any of them.

Ok, last minute edit here. I just remembered that I know of two people killed in golf cart accidents. One was my bosses, boss' wife who must have been around 40. She fell out on a paved path. Another was a young guy (31 maybe) with two young children. He turned over his cart while playing golf. I know a lot of campers have golf carts so be safe out there.

[Paul M]

Im 58, I tell my Granddaughter who is getting ready for college that this is NOT a dress rehersal. There are NO do-overs.