Welcome to the club, LyndaB! You will find that the change of routine is uplifting! You may also find that some people ask you, 'what will you do with your time?' So, Lynda, what will you do with your time?
A few holidays booked for between Christmas and June (2 weeks in Tenerife in January, then three weeks same place in March, ten days in Portugal in May for my Big Oh birthday then four weeks in Corfu in June. After that - who knows?
well done
you will wonder soon how on earth you fitted 'work' into your schedule
[ and I am sorry your employer undervalued you in your final years - but it happens a lot. I filled in "31 Dec I go !" not in the current calendar but two years ahead ! I suspect my employer had done that in his diary as well ]
three months after I retired I had my first course of chemotherapy
and instead of taking up an undergrad uni course ( in math ) that October, I was on ITU with respiratory disease ....
altho I am sure that such bad luck will not happen to you