Our Retirement Story in our 50's

Upon reflection today, I remember clearly saying to Merv we should have our retirement while we still worked.  We both lived deep in denial, hoping and praying that the grim reaper which poses as HD would bypass us while our heads were buried in the warm sand.  Just a little bit of me, screamed, "Go have fun, see the world, go live life like we should during retirement."
We had never travelled outside Australia until 2006 (I arrived in Australia at the age of 6 with my family from the UK).  It was our 30th anniversary and we booked our first cruise on the Gemini, just to try it.  We loved it.  We were upgraded to an ocean view cabin and we were treated like royalty.  We stayed in Singapore and cruised to KL, Penang,  Langkawi and Phuket.  In 2007 we cruised to the South Pacific from Sydney.  Our kids came with us to celebrate my 50th birthday.  Mel was terribly sea sick but it didn't stop us having a great time.  In 2008 we spent 34 days in beloved Italy.  As we arrived in Venice by water taxi I stepped from reality into a storybook.  Australia seemed a thousand years away.  We loved and breathed Italy.  We cruised on the eastern side to Olympia, Athens, Santorini, Corfu and Dubrovnik.  We spent the better part of the day walking within and on the walls of the historic walled city.  Back to Venice and we travelled like the locals by train to Florence, Montebello and later to Rome.  We took a bus tour to Pompeii and from Sorrento we travelled to Naples by water shuttle and cruised on the western side to Sicily, Majorca, Barcelona, Marseilles, and Genoa.  An amazing and breath taking journey.
In 2009 as Merv's health began to take a dive we travelled to Shanghai by air and took a 5 day cruise to Japan, returning to complete a 12 day tour of China.  We walked the Great China Wall twice, we were awe struck by the enormity of the Terracotta Warriors in Xian.  We cruised upstream the Yangtze River for 4 days and witnessed the lives of the local people.  We finished our holiday with 3 days in busy Hong Kong.
Merv's health crashed in May 2010. A year later we holidayed for 5 days at Rottnest Island (a short ferry ride from Perth) but at the end of 2011 we threw caution to the wind and took a 2 week cruise from Sydney to New Zealand stopping at 4 ports and encompassing both North and South Islands.  It was freezing for January but beautiful scenery and warm people.  We booked a disability cabin which helped and he was still walking relatively well.
Merv said only the other day he would like to travel more.  I looked at him knowing his travel is more than likely to be local and at best within Australia.  The days of the long airport wait and queues are now associated with stress rather than pleasure. 
My holiday breaks without him are now solely for rejuvenation.  It is with joy I am able to return with a peaceful mind and heart.