Retirement Talk
WHAT to do with the rest of your life? |
|
|
Episode 137 Retirement’s Many Roads
Golden is the first name of a recent coffee shop
acquaintance. “Golden. How did you get that name”, I asked. “My father was
always looking for gold when he was a young man living in southern
Idaho
,” he replied.
“There wasn’t any gold where we were living and he never found any. So, when I
was born they named me Golden because I was the most valuable thing he had ever
had.” Golden smiled. He likes the name. Golden is 87 years old today.
This is Retirement Talk. I’m Del Lowery.
Golden taught Literature at
Western
Washington
University
for 50 years.
He retired when he was 69. Traveling became the focus of his life upon
retirement. He traveled alone most of the time: Europe, Asia,
Australia
and
New Zealand
. At age 80 he ran the
Chuckanut Footrace Race which is a run of 7 miles. His eyes sparkle when he tells me that retirement has been
good. Prostrate cancer and macular degeneration have now got him in their
grips. Golden is slowing down. He shakes. He moves slowly. But, there was time when
he moved easily across the college campus, he read books and talked about them
with students in class rooms with windows thrown open and fall colored leaves
shimmering in the distance. He met other travelers in busy train stations. They
shared wine and stories. They agreed to meet again in a one year in another
country at another train station. Life was exciting. Retirement has been good.
I don’t want to travel. I do – travel that is. But it is not
high on my list of wants. When we chose to live in the Pacific Northwest one of
our reasons was that we would not have to travel far to experience – a foreign
country, mountains, salt water, forests or wilderness areas, large cities, or major universities. Another reason travel
is not high on my list is that we did travel while we lived in
Alaska
. We traveled a
lot; Europe – many times, Asia, and
Africa
. I
remember seeing older people disembark from tour buses at Alyeska, a ski resort
just south of
Anchorage
.
They walked slowly and not very far. They came to see
Alaska
but they were pretty much confined by
age or health to stay pretty close to the bus, the lodge or the restaurant.
They really didn’t get into the back country. They didn’t get to experience the
same
Alaska
I
did. I didn’t want to wait for my traveling days until the experience would be
so very limited. Perhaps limited is the wrong word. I have traveled in my
retirement years and the experience is still rich and rewarding. It is different
than what I would have experienced in my younger days, but still, it is
rewarding.
Returning to thoughts of Golden, he traveled in retirement
and loved it. I think about all of the different roads one may choose to take
in retirement and it is humbling. It is hard to make that choice. Perhaps that is why many of us don’t do much.
A certain comfort comes from routine. We know what to expect. We know where we
will sleep, where we will eat, where and when we will take a nap, and where we
will have dinner or go out for coffee. There are lots of choices but we tend to
establish routines.
Sometimes I wonder at my own choices in retirement. Perhaps
I am limited by lack of imagination. I have chosen to do this or that with my
life, but there all of those other possibilities that have thus been eliminated.
One could choose to travel, grow dahlias, watch television, go sailing, study
native plants, explore your genealogy or write your memoirs. The roads are
many.
I sometimes think the real problem isn’t in choosing one
thing and then regretting not choosing something else. The problem is in
choosing: the act of committing to one direction or another. “Waiting for
Godot”, the great play by Becket illustrates the real predicament. The play
drives home the absurdity of not making a decision and remaining stuck in one
place. The two main characters carry on an endless discussion of whether the
answer to their making a choice will come today or if they should just get up
and choose which way to go. They wait. And they wait. It is worth a read if you
haven’t already done so. I think I will put it on my list of books to reread.
I have a friend down the street that retired over a year ago
and has suffered one hard year. He can’t make up his mind about retirement. He
can’t do anything. He wanders around as if in a daze. His choices are
unlimited. He has health, money and time. He could choose any one of so many
directions to go. But, he remains seated. It would be okay to remain seated if
that is the road one chooses. The problem comes when that is a default
position. “Should we go, or should we stay”, Becket poses the question so well.
As the old saying goes, “Sometimes you just have to take the bull by the
horns”.
Time ticks. Golden had his choices to make and made them.
Health now forces him to sit. He does that with a warm cup of coffee and fond
memories of days gone by. We should all be so lucky.
A resource from a listener: Best Free Online Degrees for Seniors guide is designed to assist seniors who aspire to enhance their intellect or consider starting a new career path. It features an overview of the top online degrees for seniors, emphasizing their numerous advantages, and a broad range of subjects to choose from.
A friend's website: Terra Firma Designs: Fine Furniture, Stained Glass and woodworking workshops.
Copyright 2010 RetirementTalk.org
|
|
