Jo-Anne Cherry
Alan: What is the first word that comes to mind when you hear retirement.
Jo-Anne: More time on my hands.
Alan: Retirement from my point of view. First thing that happened was my weekends disappeared. My holidays went. Secondly I didn’t know what to wear. Thirdly I didn’t know what day to shave. I always used to shave Monday to Friday. The weekend was for a prickly face.
Jo-Anne: Loss of routine.
Alan: I also learnt about my life as a dentist. I suddenly realised what I used to do. When I have lunch I arrange everything before I sit down and eat. I don’t eat until the instruments are all in their right spot.
Jo-Anne: That’s not bad. A reasonable carry over. Be orderly.
Alan: Another thing I found I went to a café with another dentist. We had both worked in a country town. We had to know everybody else in the cafe and their job. We were both used to knowing everybody in town and where they fitted in.
Jo-Anne: That is a bit strange when you see your patients outside.
Alan: Yes, it is.
Jo-Anne: It may take a while to remember their name. Without my records…it is difficult.
Alan: Do you think that will change when you retire?
Jo-Anne: Probably not.
Alan: Well my experience is it does change. You forget their names or they ignore you.
Jo-Anne: Or they will tell you about their new dentist.
Alan: That’s true.
Alan: When you retire you need a reason for getting out of bed. What will that be?
Jo-Anne: Long holidays. Maybe a class.
Alan: A class in what?
Jo-Anne: Maybe language. I will consider Greek and French. Could work on my computer skills. I’m not sure.
Alan: I’ll tell you my experience. When I was working I had the idea I would do more of what I’m doing but do it better. I met a guy who retired to play golf and his golf became worse. He couldn’t understand why he had all the time to play golf and it had gone downhill. Basically golf was his relaxation from work and his work needed gold and golf needed his work.
Jo-Anne: You need something at least three days a week.
Alan: What I am doing is things I never thought of. I started playing golf.
Jo-Anne: Yes I didn’t remember you playing before.
Alan: I’ve joined other beginners. Most of the others are retired women playing for the first time. Their husbands have been playing for ever.
Alan: Retirement is a phase you go through. When you enter you have no idea what is going to happen. You need an open mind. Like going from high school to Uni. You have preconceptions but the reality is different.
Jo-Anne: It is really hard to prepare for.
Alan: Definitely something you can do about your health before retiring. Some people are unlucky. They get hit with the sick stick when they retire but other people don’t prepare. They eat and drink unhealthily and don’t exercise.
Jo-Anne: Of all people we should know what to do.
Alan: Well when you prepare badly you should expect to be clean bowled first ball.
Jo-Anne: Well potentially I could go to the gym more.
Alan: Or maybe take another sport: pickleball.
Alan: When you retire your social network changes.
Jo-Anne: Yes.
Alan: Your social network consists of things you don’t realise. The café you bought your lunch from or the lady you used to pass on the way to work. All gone.
Alan: Another thing that changes is your partner. Suddenly my partner realised she had a new partner. Bloody hell. She has to adjust to this guy around the house all the time
Jo-Anne: Sounds challenging.
Alan: I hate the word retired.
Jo-Anne: It’s not good.
Alan: Retired footballer, retired dentist. It talks about what you used to do. Your past life. Not the future. I’m not working. I’ve entered the next phase. I’m going to attack the next twenty years. Explore the unknown. Maybe nothing will happen except I get better at golf.
Jo-Anne: That’s alright.
Jo-Anne: Do you cook or garden?
Alan: My wife retired with me and she cooks and gardens. And I cook and garden. Another thing we have done is travel. I never would have thought it but retirement is a really good time to travel. But it is.
We then chatted amiably about places we’d travelled to and places to go to; breakfast on tour with other retired couples; looking at photos of grandkids; what other people in “Our Year” were doing.
We had to finish up by talking about the Western Bulldogs.
Alan: Days after our win in 2016 one of my sisters (she is a member of the club) was on the train from St Albans to Flinders Street and the train went past the Western Oval. Everybody in the train spontaneously sang the dog’s theme song. A magic moment.
Jo-Anne: Yes, sounds magical.
Jo-Anne: More time on my hands.
Alan: Retirement from my point of view. First thing that happened was my weekends disappeared. My holidays went. Secondly I didn’t know what to wear. Thirdly I didn’t know what day to shave. I always used to shave Monday to Friday. The weekend was for a prickly face.
Jo-Anne: Loss of routine.
Alan: I also learnt about my life as a dentist. I suddenly realised what I used to do. When I have lunch I arrange everything before I sit down and eat. I don’t eat until the instruments are all in their right spot.
Jo-Anne: That’s not bad. A reasonable carry over. Be orderly.
Alan: Another thing I found I went to a café with another dentist. We had both worked in a country town. We had to know everybody else in the cafe and their job. We were both used to knowing everybody in town and where they fitted in.
Jo-Anne: That is a bit strange when you see your patients outside.
Alan: Yes, it is.
Jo-Anne: It may take a while to remember their name. Without my records…it is difficult.
Alan: Do you think that will change when you retire?
Jo-Anne: Probably not.
Alan: Well my experience is it does change. You forget their names or they ignore you.
Jo-Anne: Or they will tell you about their new dentist.
Alan: That’s true.
Alan: When you retire you need a reason for getting out of bed. What will that be?
Jo-Anne: Long holidays. Maybe a class.
Alan: A class in what?
Jo-Anne: Maybe language. I will consider Greek and French. Could work on my computer skills. I’m not sure.
Alan: I’ll tell you my experience. When I was working I had the idea I would do more of what I’m doing but do it better. I met a guy who retired to play golf and his golf became worse. He couldn’t understand why he had all the time to play golf and it had gone downhill. Basically golf was his relaxation from work and his work needed gold and golf needed his work.
Jo-Anne: You need something at least three days a week.
Alan: What I am doing is things I never thought of. I started playing golf.
Jo-Anne: Yes I didn’t remember you playing before.
Alan: I’ve joined other beginners. Most of the others are retired women playing for the first time. Their husbands have been playing for ever.
Alan: Retirement is a phase you go through. When you enter you have no idea what is going to happen. You need an open mind. Like going from high school to Uni. You have preconceptions but the reality is different.
Jo-Anne: It is really hard to prepare for.
Alan: Definitely something you can do about your health before retiring. Some people are unlucky. They get hit with the sick stick when they retire but other people don’t prepare. They eat and drink unhealthily and don’t exercise.
Jo-Anne: Of all people we should know what to do.
Alan: Well when you prepare badly you should expect to be clean bowled first ball.
Jo-Anne: Well potentially I could go to the gym more.
Alan: Or maybe take another sport: pickleball.
Alan: When you retire your social network changes.
Jo-Anne: Yes.
Alan: Your social network consists of things you don’t realise. The café you bought your lunch from or the lady you used to pass on the way to work. All gone.
Alan: Another thing that changes is your partner. Suddenly my partner realised she had a new partner. Bloody hell. She has to adjust to this guy around the house all the time
Jo-Anne: Sounds challenging.
Alan: I hate the word retired.
Jo-Anne: It’s not good.
Alan: Retired footballer, retired dentist. It talks about what you used to do. Your past life. Not the future. I’m not working. I’ve entered the next phase. I’m going to attack the next twenty years. Explore the unknown. Maybe nothing will happen except I get better at golf.
Jo-Anne: That’s alright.
Jo-Anne: Do you cook or garden?
Alan: My wife retired with me and she cooks and gardens. And I cook and garden. Another thing we have done is travel. I never would have thought it but retirement is a really good time to travel. But it is.
We then chatted amiably about places we’d travelled to and places to go to; breakfast on tour with other retired couples; looking at photos of grandkids; what other people in “Our Year” were doing.
We had to finish up by talking about the Western Bulldogs.
Alan: Days after our win in 2016 one of my sisters (she is a member of the club) was on the train from St Albans to Flinders Street and the train went past the Western Oval. Everybody in the train spontaneously sang the dog’s theme song. A magic moment.
Jo-Anne: Yes, sounds magical.