Retirement Talk for Boomers, Seniors, and Retirees

Getting from one place to another can be a problem for all of us. The difficulty can increase as we age. What to do? It might be very wise to choose our place of residency very carefully. Getting around can become a joy instead of a problem.

We men either grow a beard or shave. One or the other. There are no other choices. In many areas of our life we do have options. It is important to realize where we do and where we don't. We retired people have choices - about some things.

Retirement gives us time to do many things we have never had time to do previously. One of them is to gamble or visit casinos. We might want to think that one over before we swing open the doors.

Retirement allows time to reflect upon our experiences and try to make sense of our world. Sometimes personal experiences make all the rationalizing we find in the news appear more than a bit absurd.

We can all use a bit of unconditional love in our lives. Dog owners realize this. Thus we have the committed relationship. Benefits flow both ways.

We all want the world to be a better place for future generations. Is it? Have we left it better or worse? Do we share blame or credit? We certainly hear about lots of problems today.

Loneliness is part of the human condition. Without workplace connections we can find ourselves even more isolated. We need other people in our lives and that doesn't happen without effort.

We could have died quite easily - but we didn't. The rest of life is sort of a bonus. We may turn it into a true learning experience. It can be life changing and may lead to an early retirement.

What does freedom mean to you now that your retired? A friend recently asked me that question. I had to give it some thought. It was worth the effort.

How fast does technology change our lives? How many times do we have to relearn how to do something? It isn't easy to keep up. Maybe we should dig a hole and crawl in? On the other hand, maybe we just need to keep on learning. It may be worth it.

We retired people spend a lot time traveling to see either parents, children or grandchildren - love trips. Many times these trips are made via airplane. Now we find out that traveling in this manner may have a short future. What to do?

Worry seems to be one of the constant conditions of living. We worry about big things and little things. We may be wise to establish 'worry free zones' in our lives. We do want to enjoy part of our time revolving around the sun.

Some of us dream of getting more involved in the political process when we retire. We will have time to attend meetings or help work on campaigns or issues that are dear to us. What can we do? Here is a perfect example of one man's effort.

Planning for our funeral is something we can choose to do or not. There are many choices. It might be wise to give it some thought while we still can.

It is hard to get anything done if we don't know where we want to go. Where we really want to go. Priorities become imperative. It is to easy to get pulled off course by an invasive whim or momentary thought.

We all do some things unconsciously that surprise us when we think of them. Why do we do that? Here are two things that we might do well to consider. We have time.

It is the little things that sometimes make a real difference in our life. How do you spend your time? Listening to weather and news? Sometimes we do things without realizing what we are doing.

Retirement sometimes gives us a chance to reunite our families. Though schools and jobs may have separated us from siblings and children we may now have a chance to reunite. Those grandchildren send out a strong signal. Should we move? Or not?

Traveling is one thing many retired people like to do. The experience can be greatly enhanced by exchanging your residence for someone else's. Home Exchange provides a wonderful means for arranging such swaps. We have found our experiences greatly enriched and no money is involved.

Tai Chi has proven itself over hundreds of years. It is good for us. Seeing it practiced and losing my wallet left a lasting impression.

We could all use a map of what might happen if we turn one direction or another. We would like to know which roads lead into a box canyon. That is where experience comes in. It would be well to know what has happened to others that have traveled this road.

Being taken advantage of is a serious matter. The con, or the scam, is always in fashion one way or the other. They can have tragic results and produce compelling stories.

There are some advantages to aging. One is that we have higher BS radar. We learn to be a better judge of character. We have been around the block and can more easily spot the good from the bad. At least we hope so.

Experiences in retirement bring a sharp focus on the time we have to live. If we are paying attention we get an extra incentive to make our time count. Our end can pop up unexpectedly.

Part of the enjoyment of taking a road trip is found in reflecting. We dig out pictures and videos. We listen to audio clips. We look at a big map. Memories are resurrected and pleasure visits us once more.