It’s now been 10 years since I retired from full-time work.  Wow!  It doesn’t seem like 10 years have gone by but the math says it has.  Being retired, I’m now living the third version of my self.  First, there was the child years growing up, gowing to school version that encompassed my first 22 years.  Then came the working, getting married, building a family, building a career version that lasted the next 32 years.  Now in retirement, I’m living the third version – J. Dawg 3.0 where I’m able to explore, learn new things, and live my dreams.

I thought it might be interesting to reflect back on those 10 years and see how they compare to what I thought retirement might be like.

I Had a Plan, But Things Changed

When I retired, my plan was to start living my dreams and travel the country in an RV.  It took a little while to get geared up for travel, but over much of the past 10 years, that’s been my primary activity.  In that time, I’ve owned two RV’s, traveled over 80,000 miles, visited all the lower 48 states, taken some incredible road trips, and learned a lot about our history.  I’m now spending about half of the year being on the road and living in my RV.  I love my lifestyle.

But, when I look back over those 10 years, there’s a whole bunch of new stuff that unfolded.  Things that happened that weren’t in my retirement play book.  They were all unexpected.  All but one were good things – things that happened as I pursued new interests.  Things that I was able to pursue or was called to pursue because I had the time and interest to chase some new dreams.  Here’s what happened so far in 10 years of retirement.

I Got Sick

As Forrest Gump said – “It happens.”  After two years of being retired I got diagnosed with a incurable disease – ulcerative colitis.  I’ll spared you the details but it means I go #2 a lot everyday.  It’s not as bad as some other diseases but it’s something I have to live with.  Having a chronic disease changed my life.  It changed what I could do, it changed my outlook, it brought with it much suffering, and it made me a better person.  Getting sick made a big change in my retirement plans, but I learned to adjust.  I made changes and learned to accept what I could do and could not do.

I Became a Blogger

I love to write.  As I traveled, I started keeping a note-book with trip summaries describing what I did and what I saw.  In 2012, I decided to take my travel summaries to a new level and started a travel blog.  It was a better way to document my journeys so I’d have a record of what I did and where I went.  It was also a great way to share my travels with others. I had to learn several new skills (e.g., website development), but becoming a blogger and having my own website has been a blast.  Being a blogger has made me a better writer and I enjoy sharing my experiences with a larger audience.  I don’t do it for the money (which is minimal).  I do it because I love doing it.

I Became a Motorcycle Rider

Before J. Dawg 3.0, I never had ridden a motorcycle in my life.  Never had an interest in it.  But one day while I was siting in my favorite pub, I listened to a friend talk about how she had taken a riding course, got her motorcycle license, and just bought a bike.  My friend was in her late 40’s and it sounded like she was having a lot of fun riding.  So, at age 54, I decided to follow what she did.  I took the same course, got my license, and bought a bike – A Suzuki metric cruise.  I found that riding is a lot of fun and it’s a different way to go exploring.  When I got my bike, my wife said I needed a biker name and that’s where the J. Dawg nick name came from.

I Became a Snowbird

When I retired, my wife and I decide to see what Florida was like during the winter.  Why not?  We had the time.  That first year, we spent the month of February in St. Augustine and loved it.  With just a three-day drive, we could escape winter and be back in summer time weather!  The next year, one month turned into two months.  We tried staying at various places (The Panhandle, The Villages).  During a brief stay in Fort Myers Beach, we found a great RV park near the beach.  Two months turned into three and now we’re certified snowbirds spending four months in Florida.  The RV park in Fort Myers Beach has become our second home.  We live a different lifestyle when we’re in Florida (one that’s much more active) and we have become of part of the community in Fort Myers Beach.

I Became a Photographer

This was an off shoot of being a traveler and a blogger.  I wanted to be able to take good pictures about my travels.  So, I read books and started following photography blogs to learn the basics.  I tried a few brands of cameras and eventually found the one I like – Sony.  I now shoot with a Sony a6000 and a Sony RX100 IV.  I’ve got a collection of lens for the a6000, filters, tripod, monopod, shutter releases, etc.  I had to learn post processing (e.g, Photoshop) so I could enhance and fix my photos.  Like writing, I love taking pictures.  There’s always new things to learn and I enjoy experimenting and trying new things with my cameras.

I Made New Sets of Friends

When I retired, one concern I had was loosing all the social interactions I had at my work environment.  I worked for 31 years at the same company and had many work place friends.  But, as I traveled, visited new places, engaged in new activities, and become a part-time Florida resident, I was blessed to meet new people and make new friends.  I now have blogging friends, RV park friends, church friends, pickleball friends, music festival friends, and many other new friends.  My fear of loosing social engagement during retirement turned out to be just the opposite.  All the new things I started during retirement brought new and very rewarding social engagements.

I Became a Videographer

Taking pictures during my travels is a great way to capture travel memories.  Making videos is even better.  Today’s cameras make it very easy to create videos.  Back to 2012, I began recording video clips of places and scenic roads.  In 2014, I decided to get in front of the camera and start telling stories about my travels.  I had to learn a new skill set in order to make good  videos.  This involved learning about frame rates, bit rates, audio technology, and film editing software.  Also, making a video is more difficult than writing.  The story line, narration, and scene selection have to be thought out in advance.  But, I found that making videos in a lot of fun.  And my YouTube channel is now more popular than my blog.

I Rediscovered God

I mentioned above that I got sick two years into my retirement.  That illness brought with it much suffering.  And during that suffering, when I was at the end of my rope, I reached out and found a life line.  God answered my prayers for help and afterwards He called me to seek Him out.  I answered His call and joined two churches (one in FL and one at my home).  I started attending Bible studies and became a liturgist at one of my churches.  That illness transformed me.  Maybe that was God’s plan for me.  I’ve developed a strong faith and use God’s teachings to help guide me in what I do.

So, you can see that I’ve been a little busy in these past 10 years. Do I miss my old job or working full-time?  Not one bit.  I stay connected with a few work friends but the work and the company are all in the past.  I don’t think about them at all.

What I’m doing now is so much better.  It’s better than I ever expected.  Pastor Jeanne says all good things come from God.  I thank Him every day for all He’s given me.  I hope that God’s plan let’s me enjoy more years and that He keeps adding new things for me to engage in.