I've retired, but my family expects a big new plan. Is a quiet first month reasonable?
Family“Surely you're not going to sit in the garden every morning,” my daughter said when I described my first week of retirement.
After years of leaving home before seven, I have been making breakfast slowly and reading outside. My partner has suggested a long trip. My brother has sent details of a volunteer project. Both sound interesting, but neither is something I want to commit to this week.
At my leaving dinner I said I was looking forward to doing “all the things I never had time for.” Now that has become a request for an itinerary. I meant fixing a shelf, seeing friends and occasionally having no appointment at all.
I have asked my partner to keep one afternoon free for a walk together, so I am not asking to disappear from everyone. How do I say I want a quiet beginning without sounding as though their invitations are unwelcome?