"How is retirement suiting you?"
NHS on the Run is the story of our next steps. As yet undefined, the future never is. Our blog will take you on that journey.
Loosely a travel blog, but be sure, I have absolutely no intention of sticking to a brief. Life is not like that.
I will look at how we got to this point in our lives, and the way we then move on. A travel blog about life's journey.
I think of it as our journey from busy serious professional careers, to care free life travellers.
Who knows how any real life story unfolds. God forbid that we might end up crotchety moaning old people, grumpily commentating on the world. But if that what happens, that's where the blog will go.
Its shamelessly self indulgent to write and expect anyone else to read. It's my diary. It is purely for me, but by posting "on line" it gives me the incentive to entertain rather than simply record. It serves as a useful reminder of what we've done, as the memory loss sets in. More interestingly perhaps it gives me a clearer picture of what we have yet to do.
Working as a GP has been absolutely full on. Since cutting down work, we have been in the fortunate position to start doing things we want to do. Its an incredible honour to be a GP, but it has dominated my life for over thirty years. Now I have time to think and the freedom to start ticking things off the bucket list. .
I started posting in early 2021. Since then I've written over eighty blog posts. Posts that cover subjects as diverse as rediscovering the joy of doing a runner in Sicily to our travels in Costa Rica. From the recent sale of our Ford Transit campervan conversion to the joy and sadness of life in a fishing village in Southern India. From the wonders of travelling around Europe in the van to the negative sides of van life that eventually lead us to sell . From a David Hockney exhibition to my genetic testing results. From my eye Emergency in Austria to the Montreux Jazz Festival. From Fawlty Towers to an abortive weekend under canvass. And more recently reporting from the Philippines as we enjoy more time away travelling during 2025. Some blog posts are definitely better than others, most have made me laugh whilst writing them. I hope that as I write more, my honest reflections, and occasionally humourous take on life will grow into a writing style. Looking back on my blogs I do feel that I am getting better. I know I have a long way to go.
Back to the title "How is retirement suiting you?". Obviously I'm being over sensitive. But all the words to describe the period of time after I realised that the world will not stop revolving without me, up until the time when I am boxed up and incinerated, appear to have unpleasant, slowing down, and elder citizen connotations. Maybe I'm wrong.
How is retirement?
What's it like being a pensioner?
What are you going to do with your time now you are a senior?
What's it like not working?
Am I oversensitive to think people are asking:
Are you alright dear?
Why does it sound so much like:
Have you done a poo today Dr Watts? Oh he's still got a lovely smile.
Does he have any hobbies? We do finger painting on Tuesdays he'll love it here!
I remain driven, no longer perhaps by the desire to sort the NHS out from ground level, or by the desire to earn huge amounts of money. Although it has to be said I can still use any extra I can earn.
And I haven't stopped working because it turns out I really missed it when I tried.
But now I'm driven to do things I haven't had time to do, and go places I haven't had time to go. I plan to enjoy having a go.
Of course it's very tempting to simply tell people who ask to mind their own business. This blog gives me a more pleasant way of dealing with that question. I write a blog. Oh that's interesting what's it about? Why don't you read it and find out? It's still f#ck off, but sounds nicer.
You are very welcome to read my diary, but please don't feel you have to. As I said, its for me. And when you see me out and about, don't ask me if I will be joining the finger painting class on Tuesday!
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