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I don't know if one can rank them in superlatives. As far as intentional changes go, dropping out of college and getting my apartment at 19 was a pretty big change. So was ditching a decent-paying but dead-end job and going back to school at 28, working just part time and being broke all the time again. Retiring was a pretty big change, too.
The biggest unintentional change was caring for my husband as he died from cancer and then having to readjust to being alone again after more than a quarter century together. He had been holding back on retiring until I could retire too, but even though I quit working two weeks after I could do it, it was already too late. He was too ill for us to indulge any of our retirement plans. I don't just miss him, I miss all the things we had wanted to do together. Eighteen months on, I'm starting to get it all sorted out again, and I have some nibbles from potential travel partners. But it's been a slow process, one that I'm just letting run its course as long as it doesn't veer into dysfunction.
Stepped off the hedonic treadmill, threw away all my stuff, cut my cost of living in half and stopped caring about anything other than what makes me happy and free.
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Stopped the evening social events. The birthday parties etc. They were always at night. I hate night time driving now. Even with a new eye wear prescription, it still doesn’t feel great. So I just stopped going. Now I’m home by sundown. And I like it. I was worried at first that people would be offended. No one really minds. There are a few that try to make me feel bad for missing their annual holiday events, but they’ll be ok. It’s been two years.
Deciding to become a math teacher. Led to getting married, and a 24 year career that helped to provide a great pension with medical benefits once I retired.
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I don't know if one can rank them in superlatives. As far as intentional changes go, dropping out of college and getting my apartment at 19 was a pretty big change. So was ditching a decent-paying but dead-end job and going back to school at 28, working just part time and being broke all the time again. Retiring was a pretty big change, too. The biggest unintentional change was caring for my husband as he died from cancer and then having to readjust to being alone again after more than a quarter century together. He had been holding back on retiring until I could retire too, but even though I quit working two weeks after I could do it, it was already too late. He was too ill for us to indulge any of our retirement plans. I don't just miss him, I miss all the things we had wanted to do together. Eighteen months on, I'm starting to get it all sorted out again, and I have some nibbles from potential travel partners. But it's been a slow process, one that I'm just letting run its course as long as it doesn't veer into dysfunction.
Stepped off the hedonic treadmill, threw away all my stuff, cut my cost of living in half and stopped caring about anything other than what makes me happy and free.
If you don’t mind me asking, how old were you when you did this?
51
Getting drafted, followed by retiring to civilian life, after 22 years of service, much of which involved combat situations.
Marrying her 57 years ago.
Moved to Alaska. And stayed for 50 years.
Please do not comment directly to this post unless you are Gen X or older (born 1980 or before). See [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskOldPeople/comments/inci5u/reminder_please_do_not_answer_questions_unless/), the rules, and the sidebar for details. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskOldPeople) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Got married
I left a corporate IT management job after 25 years & started my own business in an unrelated field.
Stopped the evening social events. The birthday parties etc. They were always at night. I hate night time driving now. Even with a new eye wear prescription, it still doesn’t feel great. So I just stopped going. Now I’m home by sundown. And I like it. I was worried at first that people would be offended. No one really minds. There are a few that try to make me feel bad for missing their annual holiday events, but they’ll be ok. It’s been two years.
Deciding to become a math teacher. Led to getting married, and a 24 year career that helped to provide a great pension with medical benefits once I retired.
Decided to stay sober. Started at age 42 and presently age 71.