Retirement Talk for Boomers, Seniors, and Retirees

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.

It is not easy to maintain a sense of self and a sense of direction. The media and the commercialization of our society continually undermine it. Retirement throws us into a new world where we have to assert ourselves. Work is no longer our major source of identification.

Falling into or creating new habits are are different. Some times falling into habits can cause problems. It is usually much better to consciously creating habits. We want good habits that have been carefully considered.

Lists of new challenges at the beginning of each new year have always eluded me. They always seemed too important to be left to one special day each year. Here is the story of my kind of list.

Holidays are a time for celebration for many of us. But it doesn't happen that way without planning. Someone needs to look ahead. That seems to be necessary no matter. Some one needs to plan.

Getting around town or to wherever we want to go can become a major problem as we retire and get older. What to do? There is only one fix that comes to my mind: picking the location of our retirement residence carefully.

Be they good or bad retirement has a way of bringing some of our past actions to mind. We have the time and energy to reflect. We may be surprised at how what we did at one time can change with reflection seasoned by time, experience, and understanding.

Retirement can be a busy time. It can also be a time when we can choose just exactly what we want to do when we want to do it. We do have time for this or we have time for that. We make the choices one way or another.