Retirement - is it the end or the beginning?

Today's my first day of retirement. I used to think what it's like to retire. Last week, I've sent that last Thank You letter to my colleagues past & present, to my boss, my peers, saying I had a wonderful experiences during my stay, telling everyone it's been a pleasure working with them. At 5pm, I logged off for the last time, close the company-issued laptop, and breathe a sigh of relief! At last, I thought, I made it to the end of the day. 

The past couple of weeks had been a mixed of emotions. Questions nagging me like, have I made the right decision to retire early. You feel like there were still lots of work to be done. Am I abandoning my team? I was asked questions like - "Why are you retiring?" or "You're still young." or "You're leaving us?" And then there were the encouragements that I was making the right decision. In the end, it was still made the right decision. A decision that was based on finding the right time and leaving on my own terms. The pandemic made me realized that health is much more important, and with thoughtful planning over the years to be able to retire healthy and with enough savings to live comfortably, to have an active lifestyle that will keep us occupied and not get bored.

How's retirement? I have no clue yet. But if we continue to stick to our plans, then we can achieve our new goals for retirement. Retirement is not the end, it's another phase of life, and another journey.