My retired husband wanted me to join his adventures. Saying no was the best thing for our marriage.

The author said she had to learn to set boundaries when her husband retired and she continued to work.

Courtesy of Allison Snyder.

Early in our relationship, I often put my new career aside to help my husband's business.

When he retired, I thought it would be easier to finally put my career first.

It took shifting my perspective to set boundaries, which was the best thing for both of us.

When I met my husband , he owned an established backcountry ski and hospitality business.

He loved the outdoors and exploration; they were woven into his day-to-day life.

I, on the other hand, was just beginning to reinvent my career , shifting from lawyering to freelance writing and consulting.

During our first five years together, I often set aside my own ambitions to help his business.

In doing so, I always reasoned that his business was profitable while my career was still in the startup stage and not yet earning much money.

Shifting our collective energy toward my career was one of many factors we considered when he decided to retire four years ago.

At the time, he was 56, and I was 41.

In explaining his decision to sell the business , he said, "It's your turn now." I thought it would be that easy, that we would quickly slide into the next phase — him having more time for fun, me having more time for work.

It wasn't that simple.