Blogtoberfest 2012 - Day 10 - The Retirement Maze

I've been thinking more and more of retirement as each day passes bringing me closer to the time I am eligible to retire.  It's sometimes a little scary when I realize how quickly the time has been flying by, and how quickly the next (just under) 3 years will most likely pass. 

I checked a book out from the library, The Retirement Maze: What You Should Know Before and After You Retire.  I thought, this book is for me!  The book begins:

If you were to ask our opinion about retirement, the answer might surprise you: Be careful what  you ask for.  Retirement is a full-time job: it demands constant attention and a great deal of effort to do it well.  If you're not up to the challenge, stay at work.
 

I like to think I am doing a good job preparing, both financially and mentally.  But I guess I won't really know until I take the actual plunge.  Right now there are many unknowns.  My mom's declining health may lead me back to North Carolina, at least initially.  If I don't go there, I'm not sure where I want to go.  I would find it rather ironic if I end up back in North Carolina and staying there permanently.  I joined the Army when I was 22 to "see the world".  Where did they send me after my training, but back to North Carolina about 2 hours from where I grew up! 

Now don't get me wrong.  North Carolina is a beautiful state.  You have the mountains in the west, the ocean to the east, and a little bit of red clay desert in the middle at Ft. Bragg where I was stationed for almost 3 years.  I can think of many worse places to be, and fully understand why you see so many Florida tags in the summer time!