The 2010’s – What A Decade

Inspired by reading a post from Ju and Jay in Our Tour, I decided I would have a look at how the 2010’s went for us. Be warned – it is a bit of a long post, but it has been a great decade for us.

Every decade of your life holds something different. The 60’s were supposedly the decade of free love and fun times, but as I was only 4 when it started, and 13 as it ended, I was a bit young for all that! The 70’s for me were a great decade, I headed off to university, met my husband, got a job, got married, settled down. Then came the 80’s. that was the decade we had children and our world changed to being parents, chauffeurs, organisers of play-dates etc. The 90’s came along and my children became teenagers, I was back to working full-time, life seemed to be a constant manic whirl. then came the ‘noughties’. Our children spread their wings, went off to university, travelled, got jobs, found partners, settled down, and we started looking ahead to the next chapter of our lives, and the 2010’s…

Making The Decision to Retire

2010 was probably the year when I really reviewed what I was doing with the rest of my life, and started the discussion with my husband, on how we could ‘change the future’. We were in that comfortable space, both our children were off and away, independent, happy and leading their own lives, starting on their own chapter. We were both earning a good salary, had busy and interesting jobs, but for me particularly the cracks were starting to appear. I had worked away from home from the best part of 7 years in the last 10. The only things increasing were our bank balance, our waistlines and our air miles. I seemed to have less and less time at home, and when I was there I was stressed and snappy with everyone.

So, in 2010, I took 6 months off the treadmill. I took a career break. My Mum was 90, I wanted to take her back to Ireland to spend time with her family and friends. (those who were still alive!) I had time to spend with her. We got work done on our house, when I would be around to supervise it. It also proved to us that we could live on a lot less money. There was only 1 salary coming in. We saved less, but apart from that we didn’t really notice it. When it came time to go back to work, I really only had 1 focus – when was the earliest time that we could both stop work altogether?

We had a break in St Lucia in end October/ early November, planning to discuss it. It wasn’t to be. We were just in time for the end of the hurricane season. Another experience! The hurricane caused a landslide taking out the water treatment for the whole island. Living in a resort we were protected from the worst, as the management organised bottled water, cleaning gels etc, but there was no fresh water for the locals. they were catching rainwater with every receptacle they had. Schools were closed, people were trying to wash in the ocean. Roads also got swept away, the airports were closed. We even ended up getting transported to the airport by catamaran!

Our decision was confirmed, when 2010 winter turned out to be the worst in years. The snow started in November and didn’t leave us until the end of January. While very picturesque, as a country we don’t do snow well! I decided I never wanted to work through another winter. As for my poor mother, she was virtually marooned in her house for weeks, as all the snow piled up in her cul-de-sac, we couldn’t get the car near her, and it took 2 of us to virtually carry her to the car! We took to delivering meals, often on foot, ready cooked, in a ‘hot’ bag. (A hot dish wrapped in newspapers, and in a carrier bag!)

From Planning to Implementation

2011 dawned crisp and clear. Our son had come over briefly for Christmas and New Year, and was making his own decision about whether he would stay in NZ. When he set off in 2007, we sort of had a feeling he wouldn’t be back for good, but this was really when we got confirmation of it.

So while, we hadn’t really worked out our plans yet, the first thing we did was plan a couple of weeks in New Zealand, to get to know his world. Just as we were booking the trip, there was a massive earthquake killing hundreds of people in Christchurch, where he was now living. A dreadful / scary time for them all, and to be honest a very worrying time for us too!  Fortunately they weren’t hurt and their home was barely damaged, but it was pretty terrifying for them at the time. The office my son was working in, had to be demolished. The picture below is demolition in progress later in the year… 

As the year went by, we implemented our early retirement plans. My husband told his work of his intention to retire in July, two years early. Within a few weeks of his retirement, I realised it was time for me to go, so my notice went in too. (Four years early) We were both clear of work by the end of October. I retired on the Friday, and the next Monday we were on a plane to NZ. Our new life had begun.

The end of 2011 was a haze of holiday in NZ, where we met my son’s future in-laws and got to know his fiancée better. Then back for a week to check on my Mum, off for 2 weeks in St Lucia and see how they had recovered from the hurricane the previous year, then it was Christmas. I hadn’t missed work at all, although my husband had been persuaded to do a little work (about 25%), from home, on his own terms, which he was happy with.

Retirement in Earnest

January 2012 dawned, and I have to say, Monday mornings took on a whole new meaning. No more alarm clock, no more early flights. We still smile on a Monday morning. If the alarm clock is set, it is because we want to get up, not because we have to. Total bliss.

Our first few years of retirement revolved around weddings, between one son’s in Christchurch, the other son’s in Edinburgh and India, and many other family and friend weddings, In Southampton, Leicester, Scotland, Ireland to name but a few. We certainly hadn’t time to get bored. We had some great trips, New Zealand, Malaysia, India and St Lucia, as well as some closer to home. In between times, we spent a fair bit of time looking after my mother who was in her 90’s. As often happens with little old ladies, in 2014, aged 94, she had a fall which she didn’t recover from. Prior to that she had been living independently in her own home, with no carers, and as sharp as a tack. I hope I am in as good shape, should I make it that far.

Then in 2015, we started our version of Slow Travel. One or two months in a different European city each year. to date we have been to Nice, Barcelona, Madrid, Rome and Athens. Where 2020 will take us, has yet to be decided! It is amazing the different bits of information that you collect when on these journeys. I always thought Lego was invented by a Danish guy, Ole Kirk Christiansen. The reality is that same technique was in use in 460BC. If you look carefully at the picture below, you will see that the marble blocks on the frieze of the Parthenon were constructed with the same ‘block and peg’ style. Each round dot painstakingly carved by hand!

A few years ago, I posted that my first 6 years of retirement had been the best time of my life. I can only add to that, and say that it has now been the best 8 years of my life. The 8 years have just flown by. I now consider myself a metal artist. What was just a hobby when I started retirement, has become a major part of my life. I have discovered a whole different side to myself. A creativity I really didn’t know existed. Then blogging came along. I am not certain how long this will be part of my life. Time will tell.

We have been blessed with good health, long may that continue. Our family is happy and healthy, busy living their own lives. Independent but yet in regular contact. We have had some lovely trips on our own, and with our family. On the rare occasions that I get everyone together, I am absolutely delighted.

The 2010’s – How were they for you?

For us the 2010’s were a transition decade, from a full time working couple, to a very relaxed, semi-retired couple. I have to add in ‘semi-retired’ because my husband continues to work, part-time, doing the work he enjoys. It doesn’t stop us doing anything, and he would probably continue his own research, even if he wasn’t working. This was definitely a bonus. It helps fund our travel, without eating into our savings. I still volunteer as a governor of a charity, but that comes to an end this year, after 6 years.

The 2010’s were the technology decade where just about everyone made the transition from text phones and blackberries, to smartphones. iPad’s and tablets. Add in Alexa, want to know who sang that song? – ask Alexa, what’s the weather like – ask Alexa. Teenage children do not remember life without a smartphone in their hands. Even 2 year olds know how to ‘swipe’ phones. Our lives are public on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat or twitter, our careers and jobs on LinkedIn. We communicate across the world with WhatsApp, Facetime, Skype, all for free. Online shopping became the norm. Instant gratification. Want a taxi – uber it. Want a takeaway, Just Eat or one of the many other apps, will arrange to deliver it to your door in no time at all.

However, the other side of me resents the intrusive side of the technology. If I have looked at curtains online, do I want to be bombarded with curtain adverts every time I look at Facebook? No. Everything might be free, but adverts are hidden the price we pay, not to mention ho the big companies sell on our data. We are far too free with our information. Our phones know where we are, all our online queries are logged. Have you looked at the permissions each of the different apps on your phone ask for? You should. I go through every now and then, and remove access that I think is not necessary. With so many ads and cookies to tailor what you see, more and more an algorithm somewhere is deciding what to show you, based on what you once selected, rather than what you might like to see today. Confirmation Bias….

What will the 2020’s bring?

Can you see into the future? I can’t, but in the same way that the 1920’s was the decade when motor transport really started to become available, I suspect driverless electric transport will be our equivalent. Robots will be common for tasks around the home and particularly assisting older people to remain in their own homes longer. Will space travel be available? I really don’t think so, but there may be innovative ideas around inter-continental travel. The technology revolution is like a snowball rolling downhill really fast, exponentially gathering speed and size. The technology side of life will be so different to what we now know. We have come so far in the last 20 years, internet access, iPods, iPads, smartphones, Alexa, smart TV’s, but I suspect that will seem slow, when we look back in 2030!

It will certainly be different…

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