Black Cherry Ice Cream and Retirement
How a simple choice made me think about retirement and life in general.
Yesterday I went to Walmart for ice cream. I recently discovered that my favorite ice cream, Tillamook, is always way less expensive there than at any local grocery store.
In any event, I usually get any flavor that includes the word chocolate. As I considered my choices, I noticed the Black Cherry ice cream. My initial thought was that that sounded pretty good. And then, I proceeded to reach for the Udderly Chocolate Ice Cream. That is my go-to flavor.
And as I was putting it into my cart, I stopped, turned, and placed it back on the shelf in the freezer. Then I grabbed the Black Cherry Ice Cream.
I must tell you that every fiber of my body wanted to put the Black Cherry back and stay with Udderly Chocolate. After all, I love chocolate, and I love that particular flavor.
It is what I know. It is comfortable.
What Does That Have to With Retirement?
It is a reasonable question.
As I was self-checking out, I scanned the Tillamook and felt a surge of excitement. It is not that I was excited by the Black Cherry ice cream. I was excited that I did not go with the comfortable choice.
Choosing Black Cherry was very much the same thought process that we used in making the decision not to return to Mazatlán, Mexico in February.
My wife and I have spent most of the last two years in Mazatlán, Mexico. But that was never our plan. When we sold our North Carolina home in July 2021 and purchased our small Arizona home, the plan was to use it as a jumping-off spot for our travels. Instead, we returned to Mazatlán, and then we kept returning to Mazatlán.
Why did we keep going back? The answer is simple. During our first three months in Mazatlán, we made many new friends. We were having fun. As a result, we decided to return in August 2021.
Then when we left in January 2022, to return to our small home in Arizona, we knew that we would return to Mazatlán again after my cataract surgery in May.
Not only had we developed a vibrant social life, but a local hospital was referring seniors from the United States to me who needed help finding the right insurance (supplement, Advantage Plan, or international emergency medical) for their time in Mexico. With very little work, my business and my income were growing.
In February, we returned to Arizona four months earlier than originally planned. And today, with six weeks left on our apartment lease in Mazatlán, we know we are not returning.
For us, the easy decision would be to once again return to Mazatlán. We know and love life in Mazatlán. And our social life was the best that we have ever had.
However, every week was beginning to feel the same.
So, what does this have to do with retirement?
Most of us settle into a comfortable routine. Over time, every week begins to feel the same. We go to the same meetings, have dinner with the same friends, and schedule our vacations just like we did when we were working.
I am not criticizing if this description fits you. It is what most of us do.
Neale Donald Walsch Said It Best
In his book “Conversations with God,” Neale Donald Walsch wrote: “Life begins at the edge of your comfort zone.”
This is not about taking big risks.
Doing something different is not a risk in retirement.
I am not suggesting that you do anything as extreme as our impulsive decision to sell what we thought would be our “forever” home in North Carolina and buy a home in a city that we had never visited.
I am suggesting that you get out of your comfort zone. Instead of taking that annual vacation, going to the same place you have gone to for years, go somewhere else. Instead of going away for one or two weeks, go away for a month or, better yet, three.
Not everything has to cost a lot of money. There may be nearby towns (within a couple of hours' driving time) that you have never explored.
Two weeks ago, I drove down to Nogales, Arizona, parked my car, and walked across the border into Nogales, Mexico, just to do it. I had no idea what I would find. Since then, I have met neighbors who have lived in Green Valley far longer than my wife and I but have never checked out Nogales, Mexico, or even Nogales, Arizona.
Last summer, I read an article about a place in Nogales, Arizona, with the best tacos on this side of the border, so we drove 40 miles just for lunch. Each taco was less than $2, even their fish tacos, and they were the best we have had anywhere. So, for less than $20, we had a new experience. And we got to explore a new city (Nogales, Arizona).
Conclusion
You have worked a lifetime, or at least for 30-plus years, to get to retirement. For most of those 30-plus years, you were forced into a schedule. You had to raise kids, save money, pay the mortgage, and do many other things repeatedly. Vacations had to be planned. You couldn’t wake up, look at your spouse/partner, and say: “Let’s drive to Vegas for a couple of days!”
I remember the summer of 1972; I was nineteen years old and living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. One Friday after class, a couple of us decided to hitchhike to Phoenix for a Saturday morning breakfast and then hitchhike back. Just to do it.
You are retired, and this is your time. This is your opportunity to live like you have no obligations. And I hope you do not have many or any obligations that tie you down.
And always remember, choosing Black Cherry ice cream doesn’t mean you cannot throw it away if you hate it.
And, if you choose to go somewhere for a month and hate it after two weeks, so what? Go home or, even better, somewhere else that would be new to you.
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