So Mike is thinking about retirement. In particular - "Where to live?"

I can't say I had given it much thought. Which is to say, really, that whenever I had pictured myself being retired, I just figured I'd be living where I am now - in the same state, same town, same house.

Sure, we've talked about how our home is not exactly set up for old legs and knees. Several of our older relatives have had trouble in our house because you have to take a stairway (albeit a short one) to get to a bathroom.

Still, leave the family home? Hard to imagine.

Many retired people these days have a "winter place." I don't think such a move will be part of my retirement, but it's hard to say. We'll start hiring people to do snow removal and lawn care at some point. And we definitely want to be able to travel frequently -- so it would be great to have people we love in cool destinations like San Diego so we have a great reason to travel.

Whatever we do, we want to be able to see our kids (and grandkids, eventually) frequently. Sherry's parents have missed so many things our kids have done because they are in Arizona for sports seasons, drama productions, and concerts. That would make my heart ache. Of course, it's possible that our kinds and grandkids will be so spread out geographically that we can't be as big a part of their lives as I would wish. If that happens, a "winter place" might happen in order to get us closer to them.

Something to think about, I guess.

But how did I get from being a grad student to considering retirement so quickly?

Whatever I do, I bet I'll still be playing games.