Sunday, March 21, 2010

My Bag Lady has been around for the last couple of days. As I get closer to my last day of work, she mutters that no, I don't know what I'm doing and yes, we are going to need more money than we think once we're no longer working.

That might be because of the travel bills showing up on the credit card this month - the deposit on our September schooner cruise and the plane tickets to Alaska. These trips have been planned and budgeted for, but still.

Or it might be because I just realized my husband Art isn't signed up for Medicare Part B yet, for some reason, and we can't apply to our HMO for Medicare Advantage for him unless we have both Medicare A and B. Which I knew, but not that he was missing Part B. And, since I've done all the planning and budgeting and analysis for our retirement, I wonder what ELSE is missing. Some small fact, heretofore unknown by me, that will reduce our income by half, or make it taxable in a super-high bracket, or will make it not arrive in the bank account for nine months. Something I've forgotten or never learned will bring us down.

Probably not, I tell myself.

But still, with 64 more days of work before I hang up my systems analyst's hat, these Bag Lady murmurings are bothersome.

On the other hand, having a short to-do list isn't troubling me at all. I remember as recently as last weekend when I had to experiment with a short list, to see if I could take the day as it came. I did. And this weekend it's even easier.

Maybe my super-responsible, oldest-child left brain is twitching a bit as it feels itself losing control over my life. "Hey, Bag Lady, come on over and sit with her for the afternoon."

Or maybe I just need to go take a nap.

2 comments:

Georgia said...

We can plan very carefully and still get surprises. I tell myself to just roll with it but oh those fears keep surfacing!

#1Nana said...

Linda, I had some of the same fears about retirement and still worry about when my husband decides to retire because he doesn't have as generous a retirement package as I do. I've found that I spend a lot less money not working. I eat lunch at home most days and don't drive as much. I downgraded my cellphone. I haven't bought pantyhose in over a year! I cook more and use all the leftovers because I have time to make soup. We've traveled quite a bit, but now we can go during off-peak travel days. Our cruise to Alaska was a bargain...we probably spent less than if we'd stayed home. I highly recommend retirement!