Time is more important to me than money.
This idea has been my philosophy for a long time.
Essentially learned life skills and practical realities from my mother who was always busy doing stuff for fun or for others since she didn't have a 20+ year career. She was a professional researcher with a Ph.D., but knew how to enjoy doing stuff outside her field. Took a 2-year job in her field in her 60s after moving to NC. Wasn't looking for it, but a new neighbor led to the opportunity. Then decided to teach an Evening College course in a topic she had personal interest in that was totally unrelated to her degree. One of her volunteer activities was being a tax preparation volunteer for seniors for years, well into her early 80s.
I wondered what my father would do after he retired from being a chemistry professor at Brooklyn College. Being a Professor was fundamental to who he was for 40+ years. He essentially never fully retired. He always had a small writing project in progress. Initially he was a consultant but he wasn't actively looking for that sort of work. He developed an interest in vegetable gardening, which was a surprise. He always liked to take long walks, and kept that up for a long time.
If you take a ten year slice of life, I realized they are not all equal. The ten years from age 50 to 60 are likely a lot nicer that the ten years between 70 and 80. Maybe not, but in mind, this is likely. I did not want to wait.
I retired relatively early to be a more relaxed older parent, as well as to have more time to spend with my aging parents. My mother planned for my father's retirement years before he actually retired. I ended up living very close to them during and after college and grad school. Luckily they didn't need much extra help until after age 93 or so. They both passed at age 95 (two years apart) and were mentally sharp until the day they died. I heard stories from them that I wouldn't have heard otherwise. Especially from my father.
Luckily my health and fitness is probably better now than a decade ago. Given my parents' lifespan, I'm actively working to stay healthy and fit for another few decades. Getting into better shape for skiing after age 50 was good incentive. At the same time, my husband's long term medical issues mean that he does less than before. What works for us is that we have always had separate interests and I continue to travel without him, as has been the case for all of over 30+ years of marriage.
