Sleep

 

Sleep is definitely different for me post-retirement. In the past three weeks, bedtime has moved from 8:30 pm to 10:30 pm. When I happen to wake up in the middle of the night, I go right back to sleep. Occasionally I will pick up my phone to turn on a sleep story or mood music which lulls me quickly back to sleep. I wake up around 5:00am or 5:30am and instead of getting up to get ready for work, I lay still for a moment and think about my daily plans. I may fall back asleep if there is nothing pressing before 8:00 am in the morning and wake up around 7:00am, refreshed ready to tackle whatever comes up during the day.

I do not miss feeling tired. For the last thirty years, I would wake up in the middle of the night thinking about work. One night recently I woke up and thought of something at Hygieia. I quickly caught myself with the thought of, “Wait this is not your concern anymore.” Liberation!

Mornings are relaxing around here now. I use the time for taking care of our financial/personal affairs, making appointments, and dinner prep work, house cleaning, and planning for our move to Minnesota. Around the first of February I will begin formally mapping out our U.S. car trip to visit friends and family (and sites along the way).

Afternoons are meditation, hypnotherapy, writing time, errands, catching a show or two on my computer, reading, and getting dinner on the table. Prior to retirement Joe cooked, so my cooking is another change for us. Today is crockpot meatloaf, mashed potatoes and green beans. That will set us up for leftovers over the next three days.

Here is the best part of this whole retirement deal (at least for today): I can choose to do pretty much what I want to do, when I want to do it, and with whomever I want to do it with every single day!

Finally when I lay down to sleep, I have no trouble falling asleep. No tossing or turning. No thinking about my workday or planning the next workday. 

I wonder how long I can put up with this little to no-stress life?