A Perfect Retirement?

In his book Thrive in Retirement, Eric Thurman shares the story of close friends preparing for their golden years:

My husband was a lawyer who joked that after “the big case” came across his desk, he would retire to a warm climate, play unending golf, and dine out to his heart’s desire. We had friends who were buying second homes in a lazy Florida coastal town. We dreamed of doing the same and, one day, moving there full time to spend our old age.

Then it happened; a wrongful death suit for the son of a former client resulted in the largest settlement in the history of the county. With our part of the fees, we purchased a gorgeous home on the outskirts of that coastal town, close to his buddies for a guaranteed foursome whenever the course summoned his inner golf pro.

This home had bedrooms for our daughters and their future spouses plus a loft where we dreamed of eventually welcoming grandchildren who we would lure to visit Grandpa and Grandma with our backyard pool and the Atlantic beach a block away. That fall we began picking out furniture to ship to our new home. Shortly after Christmas we took off in a fully loaded Jeep, heading south to soak up the sun’s rays in anticipated coastal bliss.

Those first January days were filled with decorating and settling into the house, golf dates every other day and dining out at the city’s many popular restaurants. Friends and family lined up to visit. This was the life we had dreamed of for years. Or was it? At the end of that first month, we were surprised how we felt. My husband said, “I can’t live the rest of my life in constant weekend mode.