First fact? It isn't really retiring! As I read the seperations manual on the subject of my hastening retirement date, I came upon the term time and again "retainer/retirement pay." I continued to read. Sure enough, because I haven't been in for thirty years, my pay is considered retainer pay, not retired pay. Retainer is not quite as good as retirement, as far as the Marine Corps is concerned. I get paid about 1/3 of the net total monthly income I received when on active duty , because if needed I can be instantly ordered back into active duty service!!
That confusion aside; other reason my 'retirement' isn't really retirement. First reason? Look around, no one retires, at least not until 65, and many aren't even retiring then. This is why it boggles the mind of most people, to think that at the ripe old age of 39 I am retiring. Second reason? Who wants to retire at 39. I posit that humankind needs to work as much as work needs humankind!
Retirement, at least the kind that the Marine Corps gives, is definitely a misnomer. I am not ready for retirement by the widely accepted definition:
The action or fact of leaving one's job and ceasing to work.
My dream is to work until my dying day. Let me quantify this statement a bit more; My dream is to work at a job I enjoy until my dying day. Think about everything you want work to be, and then you begin the grasp the work I long for. Work on my schedule, which, allows for dates with my soul mate, allows time to share important events with my children, and grants me time to visit relatives which are scattered around the United States. Work that I have fun doing. Work that provides money to match my needs and many of my wants.
Is this kind of work possible to find? Not as an entry level position! I plan to enjoy the journey to the kind of work I want, as much as I enjoy a rollercoaster ride, with its ups and downs. I encourage anyone that reads this to start defining your dream job, start putting together the pieces you like, about the jobs you have worked.
I implore you not to ever choose retirement as it is defined, but slowly, steadily gravitate to the job you need.
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