It occurred to me not long ago, that it’s been just over TEN years since I “retired” (ceased working for money) at the end of the academic year 2013/2014. Then, at the end of that July, Bonnie retired from her work at WCU’s Honors College. And, twenty-five days later, we moved our stuff into the house we had just bought that July in Omaha, NE. We were RETIRED! Now, that wasn’t really all that surprising. I was 69, headed towards 70 that fall, and Bonnie wasn’t a LOT younger. (Yes, I’m aware that I just admitted that I’m going to be 80 this fall, but it’s MY blog and I’ll do what I want to.) That got me to thinking that maybe I should do a post about retirement, not having done one before. So, I figured that I would.
I’ve noticed over the years that there seems to be a fairly common assumption that “older people” (often referred to somewhat disparagingly as “Seniors”), are incapable of having a rational thought or actually “doing” almost anything. Nobody ever says it, of course (except Republicans, for some reason), but the implication seems to be that such people should just make like an Eskimo and go off someplace and “decrease the surplus population.” This is communicated in various semi-subtle ways like (except in political ads):
I’ve noticed over the years that there seems to be a fairly common assumption that “older people” (often referred to somewhat disparagingly as “Seniors”), are incapable of having a rational thought or actually “doing” almost anything. Nobody ever says it, of course (except Republicans, for some reason), but the implication seems to be that such people should just make like an Eskimo and go off someplace and “decrease the surplus population.” This is communicated in various semi-subtle ways like (except in political ads):
Okay, I admit that I do, find this amusing, but not because there is all THAT much truth in it. I’ll accept that there may be SOME, but it’s really NOT the whole picture. We “olders” can do a lot of stuff, but, most of us do, at some point, arrive at a state of accepting the notion that we may not be able to accomplish everything which we thought we might when we were younger, at least as easily as we did then. I think that this cartoon from Between Friends says it pretty well.
Actually, this topic has been touched on in several, slightly different ways in Between Friends. I have often found that these references make pretty good sense, at least to me. Here’s another, slightly different, take on the issue.
Of course, the standard urban legend is that a job, “work,” is something which someone does in order to make money so that they can survive until they can retire, when, finally, they can do what they WANT to do. I suggest that this Pickles comic strip captures that notion pretty well.
This idea seems to be so ingrained into our culture that the notion that anyone might (gasp!) actually enjoy their work is often held up as something of an “impossible dream.” You know what I mean, you’ve heard it said, as I have, that one should “Find a way to earn a living doing something you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.”
What they DON’T tell us is that, most of the time, it’s assumed that such a notion is actually impossible and, even if it weren’t, achieving that end can’t possibly be satisfactory. That is, that in order to be “socially acceptable,” you have to become RICH! You really MUST NEED to have a second home (on “the lake,” or “in the mountains,” whether you really want one (or both), or not; you have to take “cruises” with some regularity, again, even if you really don’t care about them, except over “drinks” with friends. You truly NEED to drive a new car every couple of years, even if you don’t go anywhere much, etc., etc., etc.
Based on MY experience (such as it has been), that simply doesn’t make sense for the vast majority of people, even if it was possible. Some people look forward to retirement because they understand that, even if they loved their work, there ARE things they were simply unable to do while working, but which they would actually enjoy doing. In other words, there are things they would like to do just because they WANT TO DO THEM, and which “job commitments” made difficult.
These things could take the form of reading, writing, creating (making) something, playing with the grandkids, gardening, almost anything, but it may well be something of a change from the sort of thing which was done for “gainful employment.” OR, it could be quite similar, but being done just “for fun!” The purpose of retirement should be, in my estimation, to be able to do what you want JUST BECAUSE YOU WANT TO DO IT!
I have observed, that, for many people, the act of simply making money becomes the driving force in their life to the point that it becomes the focal point of their life, to the exclusion of almost everything else. I think that’s too bad. I think that if one can’t derive some real pleasure from what they do in their work, they are doing the wrong thing! That doesn’t mean that every moment of your life is unmitigated enjoyment, nor should it be. It DOES mean, however, that one should always be able to find some satisfaction (even pleasure) in whatever they do, everyday. I (to use an obvious example) didn’t always (ever?) really enjoy grading papers, making up tests, or doing class prep. There were times when even designing a show, or making construction drawings (let alone doing the actual construction) was a LOT less than fun. But, once I accepted that these were part of the whole job, I could look forward to gaining satisfaction from seeing the end result be, hopefully, successful, or, at least, satisfactory; and in seeing my students gain skills, confidence and knowledge from our work together, be it in a classroom or the shop.
I must admit that I never was rich or famous, but I rarely had to worry about having a roof over my head and food of some sort on the table for me and my family. I worked for as long as I was happy about it, and decided to retire because I got to the point where I felt that “it was time,” as they say. I’d done what I wanted to do (for the most part) and it was time to do something else. Not something radically different, in many ways, just not what had made me happy for all of those earlier years.
Here’s a Non Sequitur strip which explains it pretty well.
What they DON’T tell us is that, most of the time, it’s assumed that such a notion is actually impossible and, even if it weren’t, achieving that end can’t possibly be satisfactory. That is, that in order to be “socially acceptable,” you have to become RICH! You really MUST NEED to have a second home (on “the lake,” or “in the mountains,” whether you really want one (or both), or not; you have to take “cruises” with some regularity, again, even if you really don’t care about them, except over “drinks” with friends. You truly NEED to drive a new car every couple of years, even if you don’t go anywhere much, etc., etc., etc.
Based on MY experience (such as it has been), that simply doesn’t make sense for the vast majority of people, even if it was possible. Some people look forward to retirement because they understand that, even if they loved their work, there ARE things they were simply unable to do while working, but which they would actually enjoy doing. In other words, there are things they would like to do just because they WANT TO DO THEM, and which “job commitments” made difficult.
These things could take the form of reading, writing, creating (making) something, playing with the grandkids, gardening, almost anything, but it may well be something of a change from the sort of thing which was done for “gainful employment.” OR, it could be quite similar, but being done just “for fun!” The purpose of retirement should be, in my estimation, to be able to do what you want JUST BECAUSE YOU WANT TO DO IT!
I have observed, that, for many people, the act of simply making money becomes the driving force in their life to the point that it becomes the focal point of their life, to the exclusion of almost everything else. I think that’s too bad. I think that if one can’t derive some real pleasure from what they do in their work, they are doing the wrong thing! That doesn’t mean that every moment of your life is unmitigated enjoyment, nor should it be. It DOES mean, however, that one should always be able to find some satisfaction (even pleasure) in whatever they do, everyday. I (to use an obvious example) didn’t always (ever?) really enjoy grading papers, making up tests, or doing class prep. There were times when even designing a show, or making construction drawings (let alone doing the actual construction) was a LOT less than fun. But, once I accepted that these were part of the whole job, I could look forward to gaining satisfaction from seeing the end result be, hopefully, successful, or, at least, satisfactory; and in seeing my students gain skills, confidence and knowledge from our work together, be it in a classroom or the shop.
I must admit that I never was rich or famous, but I rarely had to worry about having a roof over my head and food of some sort on the table for me and my family. I worked for as long as I was happy about it, and decided to retire because I got to the point where I felt that “it was time,” as they say. I’d done what I wanted to do (for the most part) and it was time to do something else. Not something radically different, in many ways, just not what had made me happy for all of those earlier years.
Here’s a Non Sequitur strip which explains it pretty well.
For those of us (I consider myself among these) who actually rather enjoyed our jobs (Yes, strangely enough, there ARE some people who actually like[d] what they did as a “job!”), I suggest that Garfield may express our attitude reasonably well.
I guess what I’m trying to suggest is that, even if I don’t feel inclined to do all of the “stuff” that I did when I was younger, I’ve, fairly easily, accepted the notion that I don’t really want to do that anymore (AND I DON’T HAVE TO)! Most of the time, I enjoyed teaching my classes and believing (rightly, or not) that I might be helping my students towards a more useful, productive, happy life. I enjoyed the challenges of working with faculty colleagues on various committees, trying to resolve various issues in the Faculty Senate, and with various administrators, etc. I loved working on theatre productions, generally, but (looking back) there were some that didn’t really excite (or even interest) me all THAT much. I was part of the production team and so I did have some challenges to deal with for pretty much every production I ever worked on, though, and I enjoyed dealing with them with the assistance of the students in my shop, etc. But, I confess that I wasn’t deeply emotionally attached to EVERY production. So, while I do miss that part of my life, I think it’s unlikely that I could still maintain the pace of classes and production work which I survived for so many years, and that failing to do so would frustrate me more that just finding other things I enjoy doing. I guess it’s fair to say that….
And, you know, that’s okay. I enjoy having more time to read, think, and write than I had when I was working. Bonnie and I manage to keep ourselves reasonably well occupied with friends (Bonnie is quite active in the New Neighbor’s League which seems like an odd name for a group which has many members who have lived here even longer than we have), the Zoo, the Art and History Museums, occasional theatre productions, concerts, etc. We have even established a few local restaurants which we enjoy more often than we used to in Jackson County, where the “pickin’s” were pretty slim. We get to see our younger daughter, Maggi, and her husband, Brian (who live just a couple of miles away), every so often, we go to the local YMCA for Aquasize classes with fair frequency. I’m able to go shopping with Bonnie some of the time (which I know slows her down because I want to buy stuff she wouldn’t get) but, even that is some amusement. I’ve been a member of the Omaha Sherlockian Society since shortly after we moved here, and I enjoy our monthly discussions of “Sherlock Stuff.” We even travel a bit, now and then, if less frequently (and easily) than when we were younger. All things considered, life in retirement is pretty good to me (us).
Speaking of going to the “Y,” I’m not quite senile enough yet to not get the humor intended (I think) in THIS cartoon, although we do belong to AARP, thanks to a gift membership from Bonnie’s older brother.
Speaking of going to the “Y,” I’m not quite senile enough yet to not get the humor intended (I think) in THIS cartoon, although we do belong to AARP, thanks to a gift membership from Bonnie’s older brother.
So, okay, I’m getting old now, and I’m not sure that I really enjoy that fact, but, as I have often commented to others, “The only thing worse than getting old, is the alternative.”
Assuming that I don’t encounter that alternative in the next couple of weeks, I’ll be back then to “play” on my keyboard about something else.
🖖🏼 LLAP,
Dr. B
Assuming that I don’t encounter that alternative in the next couple of weeks, I’ll be back then to “play” on my keyboard about something else.
🖖🏼 LLAP,
Dr. B
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