Yesterday, Mrs. Fire Station left on a ‘girls trip’ to Florida with four friends of hers. She is looking forward to some fun in the sun as the days are already turning a bit crisp & cool here at home. In fact, I know she would love to spend the winter months someplace sunny when we retire. I am sure she will bring back some information on the resort she is staying at in Sarasota, with some pictures like the one above (although it is raining today).
Over the last few months, Mrs. FireStation has started to tell people that “I guess I’m retired next year when my son leaves for college”. She has been a stay-at-home mom since our son was born in 1997, and next spring he will graduate from high school and leave the homestead. Because he is our only child, we are in the fast-lane for empty nester status come Fall 2016, which will be a big adjustment.
I don’t expect that she’ll want to go back to work. She first stayed at home when our son was little, and her being home has always provided the work/home balance we’ve needed with my career. In this way, our work/home balance was simple – I worked and she was home. For the most part that has been effective for both of us, although she did have a part-time job as a preschool teacher for a couple of years.
Since money wasn’t a driving issue for us, there was never a compelling reason to tax our work/home balance more. We’ve given up a lot of potential earnings to be sure, but I think we can both say we’ve gotten a lot out of her being home in terms of our quality of life.
Now with our son in his senior year of high school, she can look forward to being retired, should she choose. One of her friends (in a similar situation) has taken on a part-time job at the local mall, but I think my wife will be happy to have her time be her own for working out and other activities. She has talked recently about getting a dog, taking a class, or getting involved in some charitable activities next fall. Together we would like to travel more and enjoyed the freedom from commitments that early retirement will bring.
While she hasn’t spent as much time obsessing over retirement plans as Mr. FireStation has, but I know she is looking forward to the process of crafting a new lifestyle (while missing her son at college!)
Image Credit: Pixabay
MrFireStation 
A good friend of mine is dealing with empty nest syndrome and feeling some of the same issues I have had in early retirement. She lost a (big) part of her sense of self and routine since her last kid went away to college. Even though she still works part time (3 days a week and has since the kids were in full-time school) and is an avid biker (even spinning classes), she still found herself with time on her hands, and a mental “gap”. So keep an ear open to Mrs FS…she might need some of your thinking about early retirement and planning! I have shared quite a few of my exercises and thinking with my girlfriend, which she says have been helpful.
We now walk once a week together – a challenging route for me (the non-athlete), easy for her, and get together once a month with the boys for dinner – something we had only been doing about once a year previously! And I am an accountability aid for her de-cluttering of her “office” – basically I ask her every week about what she told me she would do on this tough project (it’s a mess, I’ve seen it!).
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I think the ultimate adjustment challenge comes down to how you define your life purpose. Raising kids and busy jobs become your purpose and self-identity very easily. And, leave a big vacuum when they are gone.
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