Daily Writing Prompt: How do you want to retire?

This one’s a bit tricky for me, because truth be told, I’ve never really pictured myself retiring. Not in the traditional sense, anyway. Maybe it’s because I’ve spent so much of my life caring for others, where the idea of stopping, of stepping out of a role, feels foreign. When you’ve been a long-term carer, the lines between work, duty, and identity get blurred. You don’t clock out. You carry it, even when the need for it lessens.

And while I might not have a conventional job with a gold watch and farewell speech waiting at the end, what I can imagine is a gentle shift. A life where I’m no longer responsible for others’ well-being first, but where I still stay connected, creative, and useful in my own way. Maybe writing, maybe tending a stubborn garden, maybe finally saying yes to slow mornings with no alarm clocks.

Retirement for me isn’t about stopping – it’s about choosing. Choosing what matters. Choosing who gets my time and energy. Choosing peace when I can find it, and a little mischief when the mood takes me.

So no, I don’t see myself retiring. But I do see myself living differently. And maybe that’s enough.