Retirement Talk for Boomers, Seniors, and Retirees

One of the pleasures of retirement is hearing a voice from the past calling you to re-establish contact. Our work life sometimes reaches out into our retirement life and touches us. It has a way of warming our old heart.

Popular culture focuses on the youth. Life goes through a continuing process of replicating itself. Of course that is good - in a way. But hard to accept when you are the one being discarded.

Neighbors are important and we might all find more comfort in life by engaging those close by rather than spending all of our time reaching across the world via Facebook for friends. We could at least give it a chance. It isn’t an all or nothing choice. There is no reason we can’t have both.

Everyone has stories to tell. Technology makes it possible for all of us to record our stories and share them with grandchildren and others. We love to tell them and we love to hear them.

I always just assumed that most people would be just like me and look at retirement as a gateway into freedom. Freedom to make a life, or create a life of your own choosing. Well, I was wrong. And wrong by a long way.

When it comes to retirement and getting around, the best answer seems to be to choose your location carefully. If you can walk and find anything you might need, or want, the problem of getting around can disappear – along with your car.

Within two days the whole world had turned. She was receiving lots of smiles back. People were laughing and talking with her. She was soon being invited to coffee or lunch. The next 14 years were very exciting and some of the happiest of her life.

Time to slow down and fix something is available to us in retirement. We do not have to rush off, wake to an alarm clock, punch a clock, or get to bed. We do not have to do as we are told or expected. We have time to fix it if we so choose.

What we learned as a teenager, a college student, a mature adult, a parent, and citizen intertwines and forges a strong yet pliable state of mind. We can afford the time to sit back and consider. A retired state of mind emerges that gives us the most comprehensive picture of the world we will ever have.

"The good ol’ days". Did the good ol’ days ever exist? I've heard people talk about them all my life and yet I have never had a desire to revisit any of my old days.

Retirement is a time when a list might be as important as ever. As we enter the latter stages of life our time becomes more important. That is why we have a tendency to slow down. We don't want to rush life.

Maybe retirement is the time to become a magician. Or whatever else you dreamed of when you were a child. Or whatever you dream about now that you are retired.

Being retired doesn't mean that vacations are meaningless. They work for us just like they do for others. They recharge our batteries. They bring freshness into our minds and bodies. They help us re-create ourselves. We come back with renewed vision and interest in life.

Most intriguing is this connection between physical exercise and the brain. The common assumption is that exercise benefits the muscles and cardiovascular system. This is true, but the effect exercise has on the emotional and mental aspects of life is rarely discussed.

Annual rituals seem to stay with us throughout life. I know that rituals are good things to have in one's life. They tie us together. They span generations. They remind us of those that have come before.

I can't remember how many times I have forgotten something. It must number in the millions or at least the hundreds of thousands. "Senior Moments" some folks call them. l don't like that label. I've forgotten things all of my life.

Sometimes I think being retired and being a caregiver are synonymous. Perhaps not synonymous but at least closely related. Retirement usually comes to us in our sixties and it is at that same age that our parents are moving into their eighties. At the same time kids or grandkids may be moving in on us.

When the end nears and you ask the question; "Did I live as I wanted?" or "Did I do what I wanted in my retirement years?" it would sure be nice to be able to answer with a firm "yes".

Vision is an amazing thing! There - I've said it. I may keep bumping into things and occasionally fall off my bike but part of my retirement has to include pausing to look around.

Think about what we are doing with our lives. Is it fulfilling or not? Are we doing what we want with our time? Doubt starts circling in the mind and will not stand still.

Today I want to give some thought to that famous or infamous statement, “I'm from the government and I'm here to help ”. Retired people have a little history to inform the validity of our relationship to our government.

Retirement is usually accompanied by getting older. We age. We become a bit more concerned with our health - physical and mental. What to do? It seems like there is one suggestion that improves both. We might do well to make this part of our daily routine.

"I love my work". Many of us have said that more than once. However, when we retire we rarely continue to work for free. Money is part of our relationship to the job we love. There can be exceptions.

We don't like to think about suicide. It has a stigma attached which we try to avoid. It is not so for many of us under certain conditions. Several states have accepted the practice with just a slight change in terminology to "Death With Dignity" or "Assisted End of Life" terminology.

We all have our moments. Moments that are so upsetting; so unsettling that we lose sleep. Frustration circles in our mind and will not let sleep come. Sometimes we can take action and sometimes we just have to ride it out.