u/MidAmericaMom

I love being introduced like that. My cousin invites me out to a lot of outings. His wife and twin girls, super athletes...so proud of them.

"You remember, my cousin. He's retired now. Do you even know what today is, cuz?"

No. No, I don't know and don't care. I volunteer and other wise enjoy life with my wife. Just waiting for my grandkids...when God blesses. Going on a "glamping" trip in a few weeks and then I wait for CFB and follow my other cousin that coaches in MAC.

Love retirement.

I'm hanging out with my four-year-old grandson, he's on my lap talking away, but my mind was elsewhere. I was thinking about the future. I wasn't focused on him at all, but rather an important conversation I needed to have with another person the next day; an email I had to write; a phone call.

He asked me, "Grandpa, can I spend the night?"

"Sorry, little buddy. Cannot do it. I have plans tomorrow."

This was three years ago.

Three years into retirement this week. I decided to take Social Security early because peace of mind has a value an online calculator cannot price. I was afraid, like many pre-retirees, that I wouldn't have enough. Three years in, spending has smoothed out and it's less than I thought. The life I was saving for turned out to be quieter than the one I had planned. We travel, we stay busy, but it's a funny thing about travel. No matter where I am, I can't wait to get back home.

Cut to this year. My grandson is visiting; we're hanging out together downstairs in the man cave. He falls asleep next to me. At that moment, a light switch turned on. After 45 years of being somewhere else, I'm finally here; I'm being present with my grandson. I don't have anywhere else to go. I'm not thinking about work tomorrow, the stressful presentation I have to give; no emails and phone calls. I'm with my grandson and that's all that matters in the world.

He wakes up. "Grandpa, can I spend the night?"

"Absolutely, little buddy! I will even make you breakfast and take you to school."

And so, the lesson I've learned in retirement so far? Going from a fragmented non-present corporate man to a man having realized what is important in life. That is, having the time to be present. For myself. For my family. For my grandson.

The next morning at breakfast, we're eating our cereal together. I watch him eat. Milk spilling over his chin. I realize: this is what I worked for my entire life; I just didn't know it.