Retirement Talk for Boomers, Seniors, and Retirees

Holidays are suppose to be days to celebrate. Sometimes it just doesn't work out that way. They can be very depressing. We may be able to limit the bad moments and thoughts with a bit of foresight. We need to make plans.

Do we have enough money to retire? How to respond? Luck will play an important role. Wise decisions must be made. Are we looking in the right direction?

Retiring brings with it many changes in our life. Some we must accept. Others we can reject and refuse. Tenting and biking are two activities that I have seen lasting well past entering retirement. We might want to give them a try.

Technological change covers us like an avalanche. We may feel buried at times. What to do? Climb into a shell or try to stay on top and ride it out. Choices have to be made.

Many of us face the task of down-sizing. We may even face it more than once. What are some of the factors we may be missing when we give it consideration? We would be well advised to think carefully on this one.

Reunions are a fact of life. We get invited. Some of us enjoy them and other avoid them like Ebola. Perhaps our own attitude is the deciding factor in whether we enjoy them or not. We might want to give it some thought.

This is the second in the series concerning reflecting on past experiences and our recent road trip. For the first part of the series listen to Episode 399.

What might we do with our retirement or our life? The choices are many. The time is passing and it important that we make a choice. We can't just sit and wait for a magic moment.

We want to enjoy the present moment, enjoy the anticipation of coming days and enjoy reflecting on past experiences. Taking a road trip offers all of these opportunities. This is an example of reflection. And it was enjoyable.

Routines are part of our daily life that are often only tolerated. Is there something we can do to move them into being an enjoyable part of our day?

Having heroes is kids' stuff some would say. But when we get older we find our own personal heroes coming with us. We still have people we hold up as more significant to us than others. We still have hope that what we admire in a few could yet have impact if we spread the word.

Retired people have their indulgence: a cocktail, dahlias, naps, etc. We have several and one is coffee. We indulge. A good coffee shop has a magnetic attraction for us daily. It provides us with much more than just good coffee.

We get the bug in the fall. It is time for a road trip. Occasionally leaving your beautiful home surroundings for a different location my seem foolish but it isn't. We have found our appreciation of the seasons expanded when we venture down the road.

"You just need to get organized" has become a common phrase. In most cases for me it is true. We need all the help we can get to keep on moving. Projects work for me.

Retired people tend to be around the house when not traveling. We linger by the mail box and talk to neighbors of weather, recent trips or cars on the street. Having good neighbors doesn't happen by accident. We have to work at this.

"I'm from the government and I'm here to help": frightening or comforting words. We need to think a bit about that. Truth is stood on it's head by cliches all too often.

New studies indicate physical exercises do more for the mind than we might have imagined. Sure we can do crosswords or study a foreign language but perhaps we would be better off walking quickly around the block.

We would all like to follow our bliss. It would be nice to be paid for doing what we love. Retirement may offer us this opportunity. It works for some.

Ending one's own life is a choice we all make. We either do or we don't. The twists of life events sometimes make that choice shift in value. It is something we might do well to consider rather than ignore for our own good as well as others.

In this podcast I read a letter from a Sherri Robinson telling of her retirement experience. She is a listener and has given retirement some serious thought. Here she shares some of her ideas and suggestions. You are welcome to do the same.

Life has a way of throwing frustration into our life that is well grounded and frustration that has no basis. Regardless of cause frustration has to be confronted.

Creating and maintaining a retirement of one's own choosing isn't easy. Outside forces assault our own thoughts, intentions and actions constantly. Retaining a sense of self requires constant vigilance.

Staying fit has come to be associated with physical fitness. But that isn't the only thing for which we need to be fit. We might want to keep that in mind as we add the years. It might make us feel better about ourselves.

Retirement brings with it time to Indulgence in what we like best and for many of us that is eating. Our health can suffer dramatically. We find ourselves unable to do much other than eat some more. What to do?

Sometimes there are subjects we just don't want to face. Death is one. We have a hard time considering or discussing our own death. There is a new approach that might be worth investigating called the Death Cafe.