Homeward bound – and embarking on the biggest adventure of them all!

Back in Chicago, enjoying the dog days of summer. Our last day in Sorrento was pretty unremarkable – more wandering about, eating pasta and trying to stay cool. The most exciting thing to happen on our journey home via Rome was navigating the local train system (pretty good) and staying in the world’s shittiest, overpriced airport hotel in Rome. I know its convenient – but 400 euros for 1 night in a crappy Hilton. Seriously. Don’t do it, people. We did, though, enjoy the most adorable construction sign we’ve ever seen on one of the moving walkways connecting the hotel with the airport.

So. Now then. I’ve been home for about 3 weeks and officially “retired” for 4 weeks – and so far its been extremely busy!!! So much for sitting on my arse lazing about – I’ve been at it non-stop! Obviously my first week was spent in Italy, enjoying our 1yr wedding anniversary. When we got back, I put both myself and ManpanionTM on a strict 10-day detox/cleanse diet so that we could rebalance after a week of excess (though, tbh, I’ve been living it large since the wedding, so I’ve got about 4 months worth of overindulgence to atone for!). This detox diet was very focused on fresh fruits, veggies and clean proteins – so eliminated all alcohol (ouch), dairy, gluten, sugar, processed foods and all the other crap that just tastes so yummy! It was split into 3 main parts – the first few days were to rebalance the gut, the middle part to detox the liver and the last part to reset the adrenals. The desired result was to reduce bloating and feel more energized and – because all processed and convenience foods were not allowed – it meant that I cooked us three meals a day for 10 days straight! That’s a lot of cooking – especially when we’re just back from Italy and deeply jetlagged!

Now usually my grocery store visits are extremely predictable – shopping the same aisles for the same stuff each week. This time, though, there were entire sections that were off limits which actually made for a nice change and forced me to diversify my weekly shop. I’m not sure ManpanionTM really knew what hit him – instead of his regular feed, he was suddenly being inundated with oodles of zoodles, yams, salads and fish! And ginger. So much ginger. I ended up buying a little ginger grater (from Japan) as I was fed up taking the tips of my fingers off in a mushy gingery mess. Also mint. One of the key elements of the cleanse was to drink plenty of water and I particularly enjoyed the big vat of watermelon, cucumber and mint infused water that occupied the fridge, serving as a constant reminder to hydrate! Because alcohol was not allowed, there were a couple of mocktail recipes included – one a Moscow Mule style ginger and kombucha drink, another a grapefruit-based spritzer. Both were absolutely delicious and I’ve continued to make them even now the cleanse is over.

After 10 days, I definitely felt better and less bloated. One of the best effects that I felt during the cleanse was the intense feeling of smugness I found myself enjoying when wandering round the grocery store, eschewing the aisles full of chips and Bad Things. Our fridge was also a thing of beauty for those 10 days, only filled with fresh nutritious food. The trick is going to be finding the balance between nutrition and convenience afterwards – there’s no way I’m going to spend my retirement slaving over a stove 24/7! That is NOT the plan! So there is going to be a happy medium somewhere where we healthify our diet bit-by-bit – but in a way that is sustainable for our lifestyle.

I didn’t actually weigh myself before and after because, frankly, I was too scared to step on the scales after our gastronomic feedfest in Italy. But I’m sure I did drop a few pounds because – when I went for my first weigh-in at the Lady Gym I’ve recently joined, I hadn’t gained any weight! So thanks 10-day cleanse, for helping me dodge a bullet there!!

Anyway, enough of all that. On to the question of “What are you going to do now that you are retired?”.

To which my answer is “I have absolutely no idea!”

I’ve tidied up, cleaned and sorted out every closet and cupboard in the house – including FINALLY that terrible Tupperware drawer that’s been the bane of my existence for years. We’ve decluttered and had a garage sale to get rid of all our unwanted garbage – I mean, treasure. I’ve returned incorrect computer power cables to Best Buy and picked up a missed package from the Post Office. I’ve contacted Comcast about our cable service at the SkyNest. I’ve designed and ordered the cards to thank everyone for coming to our wedding. I’ve booked some fun travel.

Last weekend, I also hosted a killer Sunday brunch party for the Air and Water Show weekend that ended up being canceled due to poor weather – but which was epic for the sheer number of baked goods I managed to cram onto the kitchen countertop. My Bloody Mary and Mimosa bar was also a hit – if you are looking for an yummy Bloody Mary recipe, I got ya covered! This one was absolutely delicious! https://www.wellseasonedstudio.com/how-to-create-a-bloody-mary-bar/ Our fridge that day was also a Thing of Beauty but for different reasons – ahem.

We’ve also been to a fun wedding (my awesome make-up artist from my wedding) and danced our asses off – with the requisite hangover and sore knees (!) the next morning. We’ve finalized a date for our next Woodland Creatures and Friends gig and are currently building out our set-list (its gonna be the end of October so start planning those Halloween outfits!). Last weekend, I hung out at the local arts show while ManpanionTM played a gig with his other band. I’ve had brunch with former work colleagues and I even politely declined a request from my former bosses boss to take on a special consultancy project (I’d only been gone TWO weeks at that point). So…. its not as if I haven’t been busy!!

But…

But now…. it’s time to get down to the serious business of Figuring Out My Next Chapter. At this point, I’ve read a few blogs and books and articles about retirement and life after work – but most of them focus on the financial aspect (perhaps not surprisingly). The central tenet of the rest of them all relies on you imagining your higher purpose to create a new life filled with meaning. To close your eyes and imagine your perfect day – what you are doing, what you are saying, how you are spending your time. Tapping into those long latent passions that can now spring forward, unfettered by the constraints of Needing To Work for A Living. All of that creative tension that has been bubbling away under the surface – finally unleashed!

But what if you have no idea what those passions actually are? What if – after having worked in the industry that has fed, housed and clothed you for the last 30yrs – you simply don’t know what else to do? There are things I enjoy (champagne, cheese, bunnies to name a few) but would I classify them as passions? What is it that I am actually good at – if its not the job I’ve been doing all this time?

And then – to add insult to injury – what if you are really bad at visualization – the go-to self help tool for figuring all this stuff out?? How are you supposed to picture your new life when you draw a mental blank when you close your eyes and all you can hear are inspiration crickets??

So sod all of that. I need data. I’m going to approach finding my new purpose like the scientist at heart that I am. I’m just going to try a bunch of stuff and see what sticks. Hence the name of this blog – The Retirement Project. Each week, I’m going to Try Something New – and see where it leads. Am I energized by my task? Is it fun? Is it something worth spending precious time on? (and if it happens to be something I’m good at, that’s certainly a bonus – but not mandatory!). I’m going to look for Projects where I will learn something – and hopefully meet some cool and interesting people along the way. So here’s how its going to work: I have already come up with several ideas for Projects and put them inside the Rabbit of Destiny (aka Rod). Each Sunday evening, ManpanionTM will draw a slip of paper out of Rod and reveal to me my Project for the following week. I have until the end of the week to complete the task. Disclaimer: some are fair weather projects so if its forecast to be shitty weather, that slip will get dropped back into Rod and drawn again at a later time.

Here’s where you come in – I already have about 9 or 10 ideas written down – but if you have any ideas for fun projects, then suggestions are welcome! (except bear-suited swimsuit challenges – they are off-limits!). Stick your thoughts in the comments (keep it clean, please!) and they may get Rodded.

So that’s how I’m going to be keeping myself occupied and amused for the foreseeable future. I’m excited to see where (if anywhere!) it all leads – and I’ll look forward to sharing my journey with you.

Next up: Week 1’s Project Revealed….