When you’re less than a year away from retirement, living in Marion, Indiana, there’s really only one thing you’re thinking about on the cold mornings we’ve been having this week: Florida. Okay, maybe some people aren’t quite as obvious as that, but when my car door was frozen shut Sunday morning, my mind started drifting in a southeasterly direction.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my hometown. My kids are close, my friends are right down the street, and I’ve been attending the same church for decades. I just like it a lot more in summer. My husband and I already plan to travel, and most of that travelling will take place in warm locations. I’m beginning to see the appeal of the snowbird, and I now understand how my parents felt when they started flying south for the winter.
I remember when my mom and dad first headed towards Florida. They had warned us kids that they were leaving for the winter. Mom was a little bit emotional—she felt certain that we’d feel abandoned. My dad, on the other hand, spent hours looking at travel brochures and planning their adventure. I didn’t understand it at the time, but this was their 2nd life together. They’d raised 5 children, they’d paid their dues, and they were able to focus on each other again. Of course, I was in the midst of raising little ones of my own and had a moment of panic or two, wondering what I would do without my mom close by. But we made it through that first winter, and it became an every year trip. My parents would return in the spring, looking tanner and healthier, and they’d swing right back into grandparent mode.
When I think about my husband and I possibly heading towards Florida or some other warm weather locale for the winter months, I worry that my kids will miss me too much, that I’ll miss too much time with my grandbabies. I worry that we’ll be abandoning friendships and hurting our family. And I remember the look on my mother’s face that first year as they were driving away, and then how happy and healthy they looked when they returned the next spring.
This year, I’ll have to deal with the cold weather. I have 6 months left in my working career, so I’ll try to make the best of this Indiana weather. Maybe I’ll even go sledding with the grandkids if we get the chance. But despite my worries about how everybody else will feel about my husband and I flying south next year, the idea is starting to grow on us, and I can’t wait to find out what kind of adventures we’ll have in this second life together. In the meantime, I’ll be scraping the ice off my windshield and waiting for May. I’m Retiring Tina, and I still have some work to do.