B87 TRIVIA GAME #26
5 July | 8:07 AM Manila
Gentle Days and Mondays
I took the plunge into retirement earlier than most, at least conventionally. Even 18 months ago, I already felt ready to retire. The anticipation was excruciating. I was so looking forward to freedom and slower days. In my mind, retirement would feel like pure happiness and bliss. That’s not exactly what happened.
Judy Grace Capili
6/12/20262 min read
A mentor of mine who retired ahead of me said: “Watch out for signs of grief when you retire. Every ending, even a happy one, comes with grief.”
On my last day at work, I sobbed uncontrollably while driving home. In the trunk was a box filled with stuff – artifacts of more than three decades of working in the Philippine banking industry. In the background was the song Don’t Forget Me by Captain and Tennille. (Yes – this was the song Sharon Cuneta sang in her show when her marriage to Gabby Concepcion was finally annulled.) I grieved for the professional self I was leaving behind. Who was I without my business card?
I couldn’t sleep that first night. I tossed and turned, wondering: Did I make the right decision?
In my heart, I knew I did. But the mind has a way of sowing doubts, worries and anxieties.
For the first week, I felt like the rug had been pulled from under me. For the past 35 years, my life had structure. 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday to Friday. That was the cadence.
Easing into retirement has been teaching me a new relationship with time. A strange realization came while waiting in line at 7-Eleven. I caught myself becoming impatient, the way I always used to when squeezing errands into a busy workday. Then I realized: Why was I in a hurry? I have time!
Now that there’s finally time to do things outside of work, I wonder how we managed to live full lives and still hold 9-to-5 jobs all those years!
Right now, barely a month into retirement, I’m still finding my rhythm.
Weekdays start with slow mornings that flow into lazy afternoons alongside gentle bursts of optional client work and various errands. Meanwhile, weekends are free and sacred.
Mondays have become my “deep work” days. The mornings are relaxed and quiet. I usually wake up around 6 a.m., walk, meditate, journal, and have a leisurely breakfast, most days with my mom. I spend a big uninterrupted part of the day writing, reflecting, or working on ideas I never quite had the space to pursue before.
Tuesdays to Thursdays are reserved for client work. I’d much call this life stage “rewirement” instead of retirement because I don’t intend to stop working any time soon. It simply means working differently. These are the days for workshops, meetings, facilitation, and consulting engagements. The difference now is that work feels more paced and intentional.
Fridays are purposefully light. A little writing, marketing, reflection, or simply catching up with people. Sometimes the afternoon is left completely free for errands, lakwatsa or coffee with friends.
Retirement (or “rewirement”) is about creating a different rhythm for living.
For those of us approaching this season of life, perhaps the challenge is not just financial preparation, though that is certainly important. Maybe the deeper challenge is learning how to let go of an old self while opening up to a new one.
Often in these first few weeks of retirement, I still feel the urge to scramble for an identity. But then my mentor told me:
“This season is about taking off the corporate mask you’ve worn for decades and allowing yourself to pause before putting on another. And getting to know the person behind the mask.”
There's freedom in not rushing into the next version of yourself. This moment feels like an ending. And a sense of letting go.
All told, I’m grateful I took the plunge.
There's a beautiful quote from Confucius: “We have two lives, and the second begins when we realize we only have one.”
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