I’m a young retiree (mid 50s) but I still have a child at home. She’s in high school and she doesn’t drive yet. I’ve been retired for almost two years now. I used to have a really yucky and stressful commute and between my work day and my commute, I’d be out of the house for about 10 hours or sometimes more, per day. It was especially stressful when there was bad weather and the highway would be all backed up, and the one hour ride would become a two hour or more commute.
I try to schedule a few stops when I go out, so I’m not running out the door every day. If I need stuff from the store and I have an appointment, I try to do them on the same day, and maybe I’ll fill the tank while I’m at Costco, too.
When I am bored, I remind myself of my commute and the stress I used to experience. Even when it came to scheduling a vacation, I had to be very mindful of my time, even though I had a really generous amount of time off, I wouldn’t want to take too much at once. Last year, we went on a 2 and a half week vacation, which I would have never done while I was still working.
I am considering volunteering somewhere, maybe a local historical society, a few hours a week. I could get a part time job but I wouldn’t want to work on weekends so that would be an issue. I volunteer with my daughter’s Girl Scout troop now and I help out the seniors in the area if they need anything.