All too many look at retirement with dread. “What will I do with myself when I am no longer needed at work?” some wonder. “Age discrimination has left me with no identity. I have no meaningful place in the world now that I have no job,” other seniors lament. Many others look forward to retirement. They plan and dream and look forward to the day they can stop going to work but with all their concerns they forget that personal identity isn’t tied to a place in the workforce. And when the big day comes they discover that they have little that holds their interest. They allow themselves to age from sheer lack of challenge, excitement and a feeling of accomplishment.
But now Seniors are discovering that retirement is a golden age when that they don’t need job identity to enjoy meaning and fulfillment. For them retirement is a time of rebirth when they can discover a whole new world filled with creative, fun activities.
I can’t say when the actual day of retirement occurred for me. What happened was that I found myself gradually pursuing many more personal interests and creative activities for the pure fun of it. Writing, of course, continued to be a large part of my life – I don’t believe a writer ever does retire. Now that I am officially retired I allow myself to explore literary fiction and poetry, luxuries that heretofore had taken a back seat to pursuing work as a technical writer. Now that I have more time to do what I’ve always wanted to do, I have expanded my interests to include other creative activities as well. I started playing the piano and learning all those skills, techniques and theories that I missed in years past. I started crocheting and embroidering more. I started to learn photography and painting with acrylics . I dabbled with gardening when the weather allowed. I again began reading just for the pure joy of reading. And I’ve decided to update and reactivate this website.
Now that I’ve achieved that “certain age” I’ve discovered an exciting new world filled with new experiences and challenges. I’ve found that my life is way more fulfilling than it ever was before. This simply is no time to retire.
This site will share some of my new accomplishments as well as observations, insights and opinions I’m discovering along the way. I’ll use this website to share some of my projects as I complete them as well as perhaps tips and tricks I’m learning along the way.
At the same time, I encourage you to share your own experiences and observations in the comments. Let’s start a dialogue. Let’s have fun.