I must admit as I get older, I think about what happens after we die. This is not something I ever thought about when I was younger. Back then, I felt I had all the time in the world and was immune somewhat from the impact of the death of loved ones.
My auld fella passed away in recent months. He was a man of few friends but they all passed before him. The last few years were tough on him physically (riddled with medical issues) and in the end his mind went too. We are all (well most of us on here) approaching an age where death too often visits our door.
I’m not a million miles off retirement and I genuinely cant wait for the day to come. It’s ironic in that it means my time on this earth is running out too.
People say you should live everyday as if its your last. It’s not that easy when you are on the threadmill of life and all that comes with it like family, work and what not.
Thus, I’m going to make the most of my time in retirement and do the things that I just dont have the bandwidth for at present.
So in no particular order:
Go to the crucible and travel to watch more live snooker.
Go to Royal Ascot, Longchamps for the Arc and most of the big jumps meetings in Ireland and UK
Play in the WSOP main event. I played alot of poker years ago before commitments came along.
Travel more with Mrs Fenwaypark. The girls can come too if they are still talking to me.
Don’t become a professional gambler. Do go to the Crucible and do it soon because it likely won’t be there very long. Wear a Cork jersey so we know you’re there.
Do go back to college as a mature student doing Addiction Studies and do sit up the front at a big lecture hall when all the whippersnappers are up the back. Do ask awkward questions to the lecturer for which the lecturer thanks you and wants to go for a convivial pint with you for. Do use your qualification in Addiction Studies which you will gain as a mature student to prevent people becoming professional gamblers without the experience of having been a professional gambler yourself.
My oul’ fella used to talk about how when he retired he’d go across Canada on a train. The furthest he got was Cardiff.
I read this post. It broke my heart and also inspired me. Ive just booked 2 tickets for ludovico einaudi in Milan in December. Thank you. And im so sorry for the loss of your dad.
Why wait? There’s nothing outrageous on that list bar the lack of specifics regarding the travelling. Do them now if they are on your bucket list. You can find other stuff to add to it.
Travel with Mrs Locke. We’ve done a bit already and we travel great together. Head to the far east, Australia, New Zealand, South America.
Play more golf. Love the game, if I had more time I reckon I could be competitive.
Go to more live sport.
Go to more live music.
Volunteer my time. Most likely with DSI, but local causes too like Tidy Towns.
Take up a new sport. Have my name down for the local tennis club, would like to give that a craic. Want to try skiing too.
Sorry for your loss @fenwaypark. Both Mrs. Kremmen and myself have both lost our fathers in the last couple of years and it does indeed give pause for thought.
I can retire in under two years and the first thing I’m seriously considering is investing in a camper van/small motorhome and hit the road whenever the spirit moves us.
A group of us (6 husbands and wives) started putting away a few bob in a credit union last year with the plan of heading to the US for the 2031 Rugby World Cup. Stay for the whole tournament and travel around in a couple of hired RVs. I drove some of the backroads of America some years ago and it was fascinating.
Other than that, simply trying to stay standing will do me.
