Turning the page

I don't know why, maybe it's just my age or seeing too many obituaries for people my age, but lately, I have been feeling more and more ready to turn the page of my life. I've worked the same job for over 28 years and I am beginning to weary of doing the same thing, day in, day out, and dealing with spending an hour per day in the car commuting to and from work. So I am beginning to plan my retirement, for which I am eligible, at the earliest, four months from now when I turn 55. However, I do not think I will leave that soon. I will probably retire sometime in 2013 once I reach the 30 year mark of doing my job. Sure, I will miss access to all the good books, movies, CDs and more, but libraries as we now know them will probably cease to exist in the not so distant future due to the increasingly electronic world in which we live. Libraries are pitching most of their hard copy books, ending magazine and newspaper subscriptions that can be had online and basically transitioning to becoming an online resource for electronic books, movies and music. So as I see it, I am in a dying business for which there will no longer be a need for physical buildings staffed by real people. Things will be done virtually, online, without the need for staff to assist, so....I'm beginning to feel that it's probably going to be time to leave my career field in the not so distant future and move on. I'm very much feeling the need to live life on my own terms. I'm tired of being told when I can and cannot take vacation and having my work life dictated for me by someone else. I'm ready to regain control over my life situation and do what I want to do, not what I have to do. I'm also tired of living on a fixed income. I haven't had a raise in six years, not even cost of living, and from what I hear, we can't expect any additional compensation for another five years. That's just too long to go on living on the same income when prices continue to skyrocket. Now, admittedly, retirement will mean losing a third of my salary, but I won't have to spend an hour a day commuting to and from work or paying for parking, meaning money for gas, parking and future car repairs will be saved. My car will also be paid off by the time I retire, saving me that money as well. I'm thinking of investing in precious metals like gold and silver since, in my 54 year lifetime, those have never once gone down in price, but have continued to appreciate in value. It's safe, it's tangible and it's not the casino gambling with your money that stocks and bonds are. I just have to do some research on how to do that and make the most money I can, even if I have to start small. So I am beginning to think long term and look toward the day I walk away from my career and live the life I want to live and do what I want to do. I will not be bored, that's for sure. Right now I just don't have time to do the many things I'd like to, and if I do have the time, I haven't got the energy after a long workday. I look forward to when I no longer have to slap an alarm clock at 5:00 a.m. to start another long day and can sleep until when my body says it is time to wake up and start my day. Two more years, that's all I have, and then it's time to move on to live the life I want to live, and by my own lights. I'm nervous and excited, but ready to turn the page of my life to whatever new chapters await.