retirement is a milestone in a person's life, @slowwalker, and necessitates an adjustment.

When I retired from teaching to pursue full time writing I had anticipated everything but two things - the familiarity and comfort of routine, and the loss of collegial friendships.

Working automatically structures your life because you have places to go and people to meet - your time is literally not your own. So, what will you do when your time is totally your own?

And those people you worked with for years - you will have to work hard to continue the friendship and not rely on proximity to supply a ready-made connection.

My advice to you, @slowwalker, is not to retire to cease doing things but to retire to start doing other things, things you never had time for when you worked.

Retirement is not walking away from things but walking toward new things, and I know you will keep on walking, my friend :)