I am one of those men folk who waited for that D day of retiring from work and enjoying perennial bliss… no more chasing impossible targets ...elusive promotions etc. Now that I am retired, I chose to document my as well as a few of my friends’ learning for the benefit of retired, home bound husbands.
The Good news - you, the retired husband can, indeed enjoy this phase of life with peace and harmony, but…...
The Bad news – you now need to change your mind set, which is not easy, considering you are on the wrong side of 50’s.
Here is the summary of the Dummies Guide:

- Since your wife now has three times you at one third the income, she works out a revised financial package. This includes, ‘in sourcing’ some of the household jobs, done so far by the maid. Swallow your pride and do them anyway, as these would give some movements to your legs & limbs. .

- She stops “ irrelevant” expenditures, such as, subscriptions to business magazines, technical journals etc. You may look out for alternate free sources (internet, neighbour etc)

- She bars or restricts minor vices such as cigarette / alcohol. How to continue to enjoy is beyond the scope of this guide.

- By now, most of you would have a ‘beer’ belly and excess kilos. She controls your food intake and, lo! another source of enjoyment is also gone.

- The dream of getting up late in the morning is shattered as she will force you to go for a morning walk / do yoga to earn your morning tea.

- If you have grand children living away, you could be left alone to fend for yourself when she prefers to spend extended time with them

- You might be tempted to come with brilliant ideas on improving the supply chain of groceries, improving the productivity of the maid servant etc. Avoid this impulse and respect the invisible LOC (Line Of Control) which, incidentally runs across the whole house.

- You might want frequent cups of tea, which is actually a sign of boredom. To have the same without regret is that you make it yourself and for her also.

- Do not demand specific menu for breakfast/lunch/snacks with evening tea / dinner etc. since she is already over loaded on account of your presence. Instead, do appreciate what is served

- On a more serious note, remember your wife have been serving you and the children all these years. Now is the time for you to return (the service), not only to the society but also to her.
After all, charity begins at home

Thanks for bringing this flower smelling article into the garden, Veeravalli.
I'd encourage you to dive into our profille questions, upload your avatar and jump into comments at the main blog so more folks can be aware of your wisdom!

Enjoy and welcome,
Chief flower smeller!

Veeravalli,

I absolutely loved this. It was heartwarming, hilarious and true all at the same time. When I retire, I want to spend time with my husband, do volunteer work and join in on some of the wonderful senior activites available in the city I live.

As Jim says, please do dig into the garden a bit further and upload an avatar and let us get to know you better by completing your profile questions. After this piece, I can't wait to read your answers!

Take care,
CC

I have been dreaming about the days when I can retire. Unfortunately I will have to wait like 30 years before I can retire. I would want to spend the remaining days enjoying the beach, dining at anywhere and at anytime, travel to as many places as possible.

I have to admit though I'm not a fan of the word ' retire' it stinks of' feet up with no purpose' - right?

Hello All.
The hardest thing about retirement is finding things to do.
I have joined the village comunity council to try and put back what I have learned.
I have solved the mystery of Professor Layton and The Curious Village (nintendo DS).
I have joined the local library and probably being the only person not to have I am going to read A Short History of Time.
This should keep me going for a while!
Not forgetting my two grand-daughters who have to be brought up.

Me again.
The Short History has started whilst I have been in hospital for a week.
I will email Prof. Hawking and tell him where he has it wrong!

Anyhow back to retirement.

The fellow in the next bed had just had a cancerous kidney removed and had been given the all clear.
All he did was go on about how he was missing work. I managed to keep quiet, not mention to him how lucky he was, he should find a life and start living. He is 60

With 5 kids between us, we'll probably be scrounging any p/t job we can to pay for all those grandkids presents... not to mention helping their struggling parents with those little treats etc we've been very lucky enough to receive from our own parents when times were a bit hard.

From school shoes to big car bills, we've been very fortunate indeed.

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