But What Now?

Every now and then someone I work with calls someone old who is the same age as me. This person respects my work to such a degree as he doesn’t ever want me to retire, but yet he views people in their 50s as old. He is turning 40, I wonder how he’ll feel about being 50 in 10 years?

And there are the stereotypes about retirement… That old people retire because they’re just ready to go and do nothing. Or that they’re no longer capable. Or that they’re just not useful anymore.

Got news for you… 60 is still pretty young for most of us. And retirement? Why not if I can afford it? Why continue to clock in every day, why continue to sweat when large systems go down, when upper management is breathing down your neck to fix it now and by the way, tell us what you’re doing every minute while you’re fixing it.

I’ll miss the technical work, no doubt about that, but I’m pretty sure that if I miss it enough I’ll find someone who will be glad to use my skills, albeit in a less stressful and maybe even less paid environment. And I’ll miss many of the people I work with. However, I know that right now I work so much that I have few friends outside of work. That will change.

This is my rant for today, a reaction to probably an innocent and stupid comment made by someone I respect. I’m not going to condemn him and I’m not going to take it on. And my advice for anyone reading this is to not take comments like that to heart, either. Everyone has their unconscious attitudes and beliefs that a little correction eventually changes.

Viva la retirement, baby. And viva being OLD. Maybe I’ll feel like I’m old when I’m in my 80s. Don’t know yet.