LIFE!? How has yours progressed?

[masseyrider]

I'm solidly in my 60s.
So much has changed.
At the drop of a hat I would take off. I remember when I was aboot 17 calling home to let my mother know where I was. I had left for school the morning before and was just getting to Key Largo. She wasn't surprised.
It was much more innocent back then. My buddy and I had gas and food money and the beaches were full of girls.
I've been all over Europe, Caribbean and Africa.
Now I can't be bothered. I've seen enough beaches, old castles and buildings to last a lifetime.
I'm not driven for the adventures of old. Don't really want to white water raft the Zambezi again or climb Kilimanjaro a second time.
Unless there are friends there I ain't going.
One of the last extended travels I do have on the agenda is to spread my parents ashes.
My father to Auschwitz. He never got over that and I think in some way he would rest easier if he was returned to the place of horror he somehow survived.
My mother, to Ternopil which is in Ukraine now but prior to the 2nd WW was part of Poland. She always spoke of her happy childhood there. Darn Russians still causing trouble.
I'm perfectly happy taking the GT for a cruise in season, puttering around, going for coffee with the other old farts and talking aboot the old times that are probably better now than when they actually happened.
Although I don't think now or then could I top making love to a beauty under a full moon with the waves lapping in, on the hood of my car, on a Florida beach at midnight.

 

[MossRoad]

My mom passed in her early 60s. My dad was 8 years older than her and about to retire. He was a very social person, so my siblings and I encouraged him to join a club for widows and widowers. He met a woman and they became travel companions and went all over the place together for many years.

 

[MossRoad]

I'm solidly in my 60s.
So much has changed.
At the drop of a hat I would take off. I remember when I was aboot 17 calling home to let my mother know where I was. I had left for school the morning before and was just getting to Key Largo. She wasn't surprised.
It was much more innocent back then. My buddy and I had gas and food money and the beaches were full of girls.
I've been all over Europe, Caribbean and Africa.
Now I can't be bothered. I've seen enough beaches, old castles and buildings to last a lifetime.
I'm not driven for the adventures of old. Don't really want to white water raft the Zambezi again or climb Kilimanjaro a second time.
Unless there are friends there I ain't going.
One of the last extended travels I do have on the agenda is to spread my parents ashes.
My father to Auschwitz. He never got over that and I think in some way he would rest easier if he was returned to the place of horror he somehow survived.
My mother, to Ternopil which is in Ukraine now but prior to the 2nd WW was part of Poland. She always spoke of her happy childhood there. Darn Russians still causing trouble.
I'm perfectly happy taking the GT for a cruise in season, puttering around, going for coffee with the other old farts and talking aboot the old times that are probably better now than when they actually happened.
Although I don't think now or then could I top making love to a beauty under a full moon with the waves lapping in, on the hood of my car, on a Florida beach at midnight.

You're lucky to be here with your father's survival of that place. I know a woman that was born in Dresden, Germany and her folks got out right as the war started. Sounds like a good plan for their ashes.

As for the love part, man, the sand gets in all kinds of places and I was worried for you until the hood of the car showed up.

 

[orezok]

We are currently on our very last camping trip in the RV. I’m 78 and the wife is 82. Time to pull that plug. Traveled over much of the US and never had the urge to go abroad. There is SO MUCH to see in this country and it keeps the $$$ with our people.

Now it’s basically “hibernating” on our 26 acres. We hardly ever go out to dinner anymore.

Home is the happy place.

 

[bigtiller]

The opening line of Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities is, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times". That pretty much describes the 1980's for me....an unwanted divorce, the farm crises, 5 year layoff from John Deere and marrying the prettiest girl in the county - she can cook too!

All the rest of the years went amazingly well. I've been retired for over 20 years and our income is still about 2.5 times larger than our expenses.

 

[NorTracNY]

Work sent me to Europe, Hawaii, coast to coast in US, and China. I will travel if my family wants, but I'm happy to be at home and in my community. It's clear that this is the country with the most freedoms and I have no desire to be abroad. I fear some of the changes I'm seeing, especially in NY that are coming from abroad.

I'm not retired yet, but mentally I'm adjusting and preparing to do so. I'm doing my best to let the stress go.

 

[kenmbz]

I am in my 60s need to work for 4 more years to cover sons College or I would be already retired.
I have worked in over a dozen countries, visited over 40 and still have a few on my list to see.

I used to travel most of the time, gave that up to raise our son and was about 2 trips per year.
Now down to 1 trip year to visit dying father and hopefully see my aged uncle soon in California.

 

[ronjhall]

Life has been good for the most part. Got married young at 20. My wife and I had many good times. 2 great kids. Raced Go-karts, cars, snowmobile, and motorcycles. Then we moved where I now live in 1972. We loved it. Took me 23 years to find out my wife loved to fish. For the next 25 years we enjoyed Great Lakes fishing and our place in the country. Last boat was 32’. After retirement in 2004 bought a motorhome. Sold the boat. Traveled over 12 years with it. Sold it when wife became too ill to travel. She died 6 years ago. Sure would love to have her back. 57 years of marriage. She left me with many good memories.
Today I have family, friends and neighbors that I use to enjoy my life in the country. Oh yah and 2 Kubota tractors with a full barn of attachment’s.
Just started my 22nd year of retirement.
Traveling was part of my job as a field service engineer. Gave me and my wife the desire to see what there was not time to do before retirement.
Two of my best memories.

Attachments

• 
  betty & horses.jpg

  110.6 KB · Views: 152
• 
  2021-02-15-16-50-0042.jpeg

  928.1 KB · Views: 168

 

[Lastkidpicked]

This thread is perfect timing!

A few weekends ago I was brush hogging the pasture and on the laps that I was facing the neighbor's garage I saw him getting the boat and camper together for one last summer trip.

All I could think was, "Good for you, neighbor, but given the choice I'm happier to stay here and run the tractor"

 

[BackRoad]

Seeing common themes in what has been offered...

45 years of work has taken me to all of the 50, plus Canada, Mexico, Cuba, many Caribbean islands, Columbia, South Africa, UK, and most of the EU countries except maybe Spain. Surprisingly, as our kids got older, I was able to take my wife along, on our dime of course. She was the seasoned tourista and I mostly working with some limited time off for good behavior!

We both retired the same day back in 2019, bought a dually and RV, then hit the National Parks circuit. We were months into the grand adventure when Covid became propaganda, so we hightailed it home to PA.

"There and Back" is a theme from Lord of The Rings. It's our story too. We've traveled and seen a lot, and still get a bit of the wanderlust. We continue to do a fair amount of travel, but only for 7 to 10 days at a time now. And after 40 years of flying, I plan to NEVER get on another airplane...but I can still talk myself into a good road trip!

At 67 and 68, we're still a ways off from being hermits, but we're both content at being home more...just living and enjoying life together. Sometimes that means her quilting and me working at staying busy with the land, and sometimes it's just sitting together on the porch sipping a coffee...