Preparing for retirement
A long time ago, I learned that signing up for an evening lecture wasn’t a great idea. I’m referring to my late teen years, and the excitement of a college education. The evening class time tended to distract me from more important (social) endeavours. And by the end of a long day, a longer evening didn’t improve things.
I went back to school, in a manner of speaking, this evening. We’re following an intense weekend seminar on preparation for retirement. Not quite there, but I will be, if current tendencies continue. Anyhow, the community wants those who are retired to be happy, and so we’re being prepared for the changes a life of leisure will bring on the mental, physical, financial and legal levels.
What did I take away from this evening (almost four hours in a hotel chair)? Well, a lot of little things. For instance, if I want to lose a kilogram of body fat, I’ll have to walk 125 km. Suddenly, I feel very tired, and there’s a blister on my heel. Now, that wasn’t exactly what the professor wanted us to learn from his effort, so I’ll generalize. Good health is better than bad health. I won’t live forever, and it’s really too late to reform from a lifetime of wanton activity. Again, not quite his message, but I was tired.
There was also a notary (one of those synonyms for lawyer used locally). I didn’t have to pay his honorarium, so I was attentive. Making a will is good; making a will by yourself is bad. Encourages everyone else to get involved trying to decide what you intended, without benefit of your clarification. Getting some friends together and writing a will is marginally better (depending on what you and your friends scribble in the margins). The best case involves you and a lawyer. I detect a slight conflict of interest (on the part of the presenter), but his jokes were fairly well presented. And now I’m going to bed, (retiring, if you will) because we’re doing much more tomorrow.
