Longevity

According to the Social Security Administration, I will likely live – all other things being equal – to the ripe old age of 83.97 years.

For those among you who like numbers, I have approximately 209,402 hours or 12,564,115 minutes left to enjoy life... I mean, 12,564,114 minutes.

X#%*! (Insert expletive of choice).  That’s a whole lot of time to kill.

I ruminate about retirement almost every day – am I ready emotionally for it? Will I get bored away from the controlled chaos of office life?   In my daydreams about it I swing from the euphoria of thinking about all the things I’ll be able to do that I haven’t had --  or made -- the time to do…

Gourmet cooking! Travel! Painting! Pottery! Writing! Losing weight! Studying for a PhD in Something Not Too Terribly Challenging! Losing weight!

But the reality of daily living sets in…

Will my husband be able to stand being around me all that time? Who’s going to pay the mortgage while we’re blowing all that cash on travel?  Has anyone seen my 401K balance lately?  How will we manage our daughter’s college expenses and beyond? Will time on my hands lead to a round-the-clock, uncontrollable urge to snack?

…And then I settle myself down and start to focus on practical things associated with long life in retirement. 

·         When should I stop coloring my hair?

·         Is it challenging to be a barista?

·         Are water aerobics effective?

·         Should I start researching hip and knee replacement surgery?

These are just a few of the big, burning questions I need to address in the months (years?) ahead as I begin to imagine, and then design, the retirement I aspire to enjoy as well as the retirement I can pragmatically expect.  I will look to you for good ideas too about how I might to this -- and I'll share any interesting tidbits I pick up along the way.

Long-term care insurance, anyone?