{"id":351,"date":"2026-03-21T16:26:45","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T16:26:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/slightlydoolally.com\/stories\/?p=351"},"modified":"2026-03-21T16:28:03","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T16:28:03","slug":"approaching-retirement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/slightlydoolally.com\/stories\/index.php\/2026\/03\/21\/approaching-retirement\/","title":{"rendered":"Approaching Retirement"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I was discussing “retirement” at work yesterday at the water fountain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am not sure I am quite up to speed with the whole “retirement” thing I can’t be retiring, I am not that fucking old!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then again my body constantly disagrees with my inner 26 year old, there\u2019s a particular kind of mischief in that, isn\u2019t there,the body filing quiet complaints while the soul is still lacing up its boots, convinced there\u2019s a whole road yet to be walked before teatime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have a sense that somewhere inside, the clock stopped, not in denial, not in refusal, but in continuity, I seem to want to continue 15 August 2026 indefinitly I have not become a different person as I accelerate towards 66. I have just collected years in one of the boxes of stuff in the mancave and I remain the same essential self who was once 26 and thought nothing of late nights, early mornings, and grand, slightly mad ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The difference now isn\u2019t the loss of that younger man, it\u2019s the negotiations you have to have with him. He still says, and Bill<\/a> and Vitor<\/a> will know this McDonagh reply i hear in my own head nealy everyday “Let\u2019s go. It\u2019ll be grand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The correct answer i give myself is ,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAye, but we\u2019ll bring sandwiches, check the weather, and maybe not walk both ways, let’s get Val<\/a> to pick us up”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s not giving in, that\u2019s learning how to keep the adventure alive without paying quite such a brutal price over the next 3 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And truth be told, the younger version of me was running on credit. Energy, resilience, the ability to bounce back from nonsense decisions, that was all borrowed time. What I have now is something I didn\u2019t back then, perspective, memory, and the ability to choose your adventures rather than simply fall into them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trick, I think, isn\u2019t to silence that 26-year-old voice, but to keep him as a companion rather than letting him take the wheel. Let him suggest the fishing trip, just maybe drive to Seneril Bridge instead of cycling, bring a flask, take my time, and enjoy the river rather than conquering it. Because the truth is I haven\u2019t lost the adventure seeking “me”. I\u2019ve just changed the terms of engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And if I listen carefully, there\u2019s probably a third voice now too, not the young man or the practical present one, but something older, calmer, the “essential” me that says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re still here. That\u2019s the real gift. Now, what shall we do with the day?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s not the end of the story it is just a different kind of beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now is the Bogsnorkling championship on this year?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am just thinking about retirement and getting older<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":352,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life","category-musings"],"yoast_head":"\nApproaching Retirement - The Mess and The Meaning<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/slightlydoolally.com\/stories\/index.php\/2026\/03\/21\/approaching-retirement\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Approaching Retirement - The Mess and The Meaning\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I am just thinking about 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