Seniors

Last edited Mon Apr 5, 2021, 07:29 PM - Edit history (1)

I didn't have any pre-planning at all. My retirement was sudden due to health problems so I had not planned anything.
It was a work in progress and I did not do it methodically, it just evolved as I went.

I also never considered myself the typical person with a cookie-cutter retirement future. I had a very busy, demanding and challenging career. Once I recovered from health issues, I was bored. I took up a number of hobbies which are quite intellectually challenging, and are of service to others. (For example, I do DNA adoption searches. I am able to examine an individual's DNA results and find biological parents. It requires advanced genealogy and DNA science skills which I taught myself). All of this is a lot of fun for me.

So if you are intellectually bored, look for something which challenges your mind. I am service oriented, so I really like to use my skills to help others. Other wise I feel like I am just taking up space.

The other thing that really surprised me is how much I enjoyed the senior centers. Pre-pandemic, I belonged to three of them. I grew up as the oldest child in a large Irish Catholic family, so I never had a childhood. I was serious, responsible and bookish. And I spent a good chunk of my adult life as a university student.

So in the senior centers for the first time I learned how to play. There are trips, excursions, travel to a wide variety of locations and interests. The centers are full of games, activities. I found my own group of like minded souls who liked to keep their minds active, like to laugh a lot and have fun at the same time.

Oh I also joined book clubs, but only with young people as the major attendees. I was getting a bit of an over load with older folks. Book clubs with young people are wonderful, I love the energy and like learning about the current 20/30 yr old thought processes and world view.

I had to move to a new condo because I keep breaking my bones and need to be in a one level. I did not want to be in an older community, so my condo complex is a great mix of people ages 30 to 80. I have some young neighbors who stop me to chat all the time! And neighbors my age which I like as well. There are two young children in my building and I like seeing them.

I don't know if any of this helps you or answers your questions. I guess the bottom line is that I did not have a plan, and still don't have one. I am just following my nose and trying out things.

Edit to add: I was so busy with school, career, family I missed out on decades of TV shows and movies. So now I have all th the time in the world to watch Amazon Prime, Netflix, etc.