Thanks for all the feedback, and keep it coming. I find it reassuring to hear about others' experiences.
I love this site... people are so helpful with real world examples.
Best advice so far: Drink More! Haha. Yes, I do like my vino. A good friend of mine told me once that she knew it was time to retire when she hauled the recycling to the curb and heard too many empty wine bottles clinking around.
So, I do consider myself a person with interests. These include: reading, biking, running (I train for races and have done a marathon, several half marathons), cooking, genealogy, going to music concerts, watching indie films, gardening (although my interest has scaled back a bit in recent years), and following my favorite college sports team. I'm somewhat of an introvert, but try to involve people when I can (on bike rides). Because of my work schedule (very full time, involving a commute) I've found it difficult sometimes to involve people in my endeavors, but I try.
I would like to do more of all of the above. At 45 I don't know if there are more marathons in my future, but I think there are running "adventures." I think it would be amazing to run the rim of the Grand Canyon, or do half marathons in interesting places. I'm so exhausted now though I can't think of training for another one at the moment. In the last five years I've done more outdoor activities, and I enjoy being an active person year-round.
As with all of the above, I think I could probably adapt a little more and make the things I enjoy a little more social. If I train for another marathon I'd like to do it with a team/running club. I would like to grow more of my own vegetables, and I'm somewhat interested in the community gardening movement. It seems there are always ways to foster the love of reading (and even indie films) at a public library. I may volunteer there.
I think I am the opposite of some people. I have a handful of co-workers I enjoy, but we are not social outside of work and I prefer it that way. This is because we don't live in the same town. I like it this way and think it is healthier; we're not getting together to bitch about the boss or griping about low morale (thus intensifying it). I would like to spend more time nurturing the friendships I do have, though.
As for the professional stuff, right now I'm a CPA working for a private company. I think when I hit the magic date I have no interest in ever reconciling another bank account, issuing financial statements, or cutting payroll checks again. With that said, I am starting to think about side gigs involving my credential. I have not worked much with tax at all (other than doing my own), but really enjoy it. It's much more strategic and involves planning. Financial accounting and audits are just cleaning up others' messes and reporting out on what already happened. I have to take CPE anyway so I think in the next few years I'll try to load up on tax stuff. At a minimum it will benefit me personally, and I may go to work for a firm for a tax season or two and see how I like it.
There are also lots of volunteer opportunities for people with my background -- everything from helping seniors with taxes to helping low-income folks get the earned income credit. I'm not sure if I would enjoy it, but it is something I'm going to look into.
And sometimes I think it would be fun to work at a library, even part time... or volunteer.
I know I won't sit around. Already I "practice" at retirement with my free time. I don't think I'm awful at it. Last Saturday, for instance, I biked down the big hill by my house, ran for an hour, hopped back on my back, went to the farmer's market and to the library (running into several friends along the way), then came home. It was a beautiful day.
I probably should just calm down... there have been other times early in my life (graduate school) when I had more time than money and in my marriage when I was in transition and not working. My recollection of all these times was that I really enjoyed the freedom. I found things to do. Eventually I felt the pressure to "get to work" but if I didn't have that pressure I think I'd adjust.
I think our budget is pretty generous, especially since we will pay off our house. I think it's probably my way of compensating for anxiety... by creating a big buffer.
Keep the comments coming!