{"id":92438,"date":"2019-11-07T10:39:28","date_gmt":"2019-11-07T17:39:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/?p=92438"},"modified":"2019-11-07T10:39:28","modified_gmt":"2019-11-07T17:39:28","slug":"aah-retirement-what-could-go-wrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/articles\/topics\/marriage\/marriage-challenges\/empty-nest-and-midlife\/aah-retirement-what-could-go-wrong\/","title":{"rendered":"Aah, Retirement. What could go wrong?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Looking back on 40-plus years of marriage, I realize when we said \u201cI do,\u201d we carried our own set of blueprints under our arms for our marriage. And they might as well have been blueprints for a tent, considering the foul weather we didn\u2019t anticipate. So how could we possibly think retirement, changing health, and decline in the years to come would not have some similar surprises, challenges, and changes?<\/p>\n

The \u201chouse plans\u201d we\u2019d verbally and imaginatively sketched and planned for retirement turned into a totally different structure than we expected. Retirement can be tough on marriage!<\/p>\n

My husband was a dentist for 41 years, while I was at home with the family (or writing and speaking around the country). I realized this was the beginning of us being together all the time.<\/p>\n

All the time.<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve read the horror stories that render women job-seekers just hoping to get out of the house. I\u2019ve seen men lost beneath a jumble of sporting events and hobbies just to avoid too much marriage.<\/em><\/p>\n

I certainly didn\u2019t want that to be us as we approached the golden years we\u2019d meticulously planned and prepared for.<\/p>\n

With a little help from our friends<\/h2>\n

 <\/strong>With that thought, we decided to call upon a few of our friends for their thoughts on this bewildering experience.<\/p>\n

Along with them, we celebrated some glorious new realities.<\/p>\n