My dad is retired
As of August 1st my dad will not have to work another day of his life. He will receive 75% of his most recent salary until he dies.
He is 61 now and had been working for the same German bank since he was about 15. He had been talking about the glory of retirement ever since I can remember. When I was little, he used to ask me if I knew what retired people do when they first wake up in the morning. “They crack themselves up,” he said. “Because they can do whatever they want.”
Now my dad finally gets to crack up first thing in the morning. The thought of that makes me smile. I am really happy for and proud of him for his endurance and dedication, which have gotten him here. It’s almost as if retirement has been his lifelong goal and dream, and he has now made it come true.
I asked him what he was going to do with all his time now. He said that he had ideas but no concrete plans yet, but that he definitely wants to stay very mobile and visit some of the cities and rivers in Germany he hasn’t seen yet. I think that’s a great plan.
By Stefan, August 17, 2010 @ 3:09 am
I asked him the same question. He said that it would be fun to look after grandchildren. I don’t know what he wanted to say me by this… x)