The Absent Uncle: Vacation from retirement

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned my wife and I were traveling. It is our annual vacation. At the same time a friend of mine asked me what a retired guy does on weekends when he is on vacation.

I got to thinking about all those questions and decided that I needed the actual definition of the word vacation to answer properly.

“A period of time devoted to pleasure, rest, or relaxation, especially one with pay granted to an employee.” 

Now I get the period of time devoted to pleasure, rest, or relaxation – but the last part just doesn’t fit my situation.

On holiday works, except it’s not a holiday in the truest sense.

So, I guess when you are retired – and fortunate enough in health and financial sense– to be able to travel, I think you are just traveling. You are not home; you are gone. Still retired.

I answered my friend’s question about what we do on weekends with the answer, “The same thing we do the rest of the week,” which is usually not that much. Not that much different than when we are at home.

His life is a bit different from ours in that he has young grandkids that he and his wife provide a significant amount of daycare. He definitely does have a different schedule weekday to weekend – especially during the school year.

In any case – our travel is coming to an end in the next week. Back to retirement in our home. Rested, tanned, and ready to be home. We are very thankful for what we have, for having good health that allows us to enjoy our time together.