Great Retirement Advice

Help 
Just retired after working 30 years. I am having a hard time, I feel like I am in a weird place. I just picked up and left my job like it was nothing. …

What if? -- Gratitude! 
Have you ever given any thought to all the “What if” type questions we think of when we allow our minds to wander too far off the “here and now?” Many …

Journaling 
This post is about keeping busy during our retirement years, something I have been struggling with for the past year or so. It is quite easy to get …

Summer Gratitude 
Summer gratitude. Watching my small granddaughter playing alone in the sandbox, making pies. So content and busy in the make-believe world that is the …

Morning Views 
Ah, the life of a retiree! What is it you look forward to every morning when you wake? For us, it is sitting at a small what we like to call our …

Living Longer Than Husband 
My husband isn't expected to survive his illness. I will be alone as I have no children or family. Any advice anyone can give me as to how to survive …

New Job - Curator for 40th anniversary  
I emailed to my local community organization here in Geelong, Australia advising that I was looking for a project. The background is that my latest …

Retirement = Caregiver for my husband 
I retired after 25 years in August and in mid October of the same year my husband was diagnosed with a rare Degenerative Neurological Disease which includes …

Staying Positive, Returning to College 
Well, my story is this year, I hit the big one, birthday, that is. I have been retired for going on 9 years now, and so far, so good! I even …

My job was being a mother… 
Hi Wendy, I have read a lot of the posts here and found the input from you and others helpful. I turn 65 this fall. My husband and I have recently …

Three Years of Retirement 
It has been 3 years since I retired and they have gone so quickly. It has taken this much time to start to feel I am settling in. I would have never …

Still happy 5 years later 
Been retired 5 years. I don`t do much other than sit on my PC. I do occasional and necessary stuff around the house but thats it. No interest in traveling. …

Be Your Own Boss in Retirement 
You are experiencing what I did and I suspect what countless others have. Be kind to yourself. These are my thoughts and I am not a professional in …

RETIREMENT, I keep trying! 
I retired at 65. I’ve had good positions in all my jobs…working with chefs at high end restaurants, lead positions in factories, quality control, even …

Publishing Kindle books 
Wendy: I have thought about having the three books I wrote using Kindle published in Paperback so as to have actual hard copies, if you will, to share …

POEM: Barely the Day Started... Do It Today! 
Barely the day started and... it's already six in the evening. Barely arrived on Monday and it's already Friday. ... and the month is already over. …

Beginning of Spring 
The flowers are appearing in my garden and once again the promise of Spring. It's been a hard winter with so much going on in the world. But the …

Battling Boredom 
Hi Wendy! Boredom is tough; I've been retired for 11 years and finding meaningful ways to fill my days, as Steve Miller sang, keeps gettin' tougher …

Garden Project Storage 
What I do in helping people, or a community through a garden Project Storage system I use, like a garage workshop for different arts of a kind; men, women …

Have Nothing - Quiet on all fronts 
But….thank you for your blog - I appreciate your efforts and hope we can keep this going

Retired and busy. 
I don't know where the perception comes from that being retired is boring. I am so busy I wonder how I had time to go to work. There are numerous …

The old ways are still the best ways 
William, Retired HI, USA      I may be able to help you out on your winter days through the ideas out of the Apollo 13 astronauts return flight, …

I think too much 
I am naturally sedentary. And the the knees gave out… so very sedentary… Now two knee replacement surgeries and this introvert who, evidently prefers not …

Cataract surgery caused problem 
regarding cataracts, I had cataract surgery on my left eye, correcting for distance. Little did I know that doing so would completely also result in …

Click here to write your own.

Considering moving 7 hours away 
My husband and I both hate cold weather and have been looking at moving 7-8 hours south to costal Texas. Now we find out our son and his wife are …

Enjoy dancing 
Last Sunday I went to a dance party at the bar. They hold a party once every month. I regularly attend a party. We eat, drink, sing and dance. We dance …

Seriously... Old Men, Grumpy Ones! 
Are they all cut from the same mold? As per the dude that is obviously lazy and sits on his behind all day whose response back indicates he thinks …

Grumpy Old Husband 
I googled this issue and found this site. I guess this is where the term "grumpy old man" comes from. He used to smile when I came home from shopping …

So Sad 
I remain flabbergasted -that most of the stories other from australia --have pity party american retirees complaining about being so busy or not busy at …

Alcoholic Son 
This past year has been very difficult for me and my son. He separated from his wife after a 17 year marriage. He has 2 sons. He has depression …

Unexpected Dilemmas of a Retired Professional Woman 
When we began to contemplate potential retirement, my husband and I focused on the more standard concerns, including, will we be financially comfortable, …

Fork in the Road: what would YOU do? 
The Fork in the Road Susan had always been a woman of resilience. For the past 15 years, she had been juggling her demanding job as a financial analyst …

Crossroads: Retire or Not? 
John facing a difficult choice between doing the right thing (finishing a long long work project) and pursuing his dreams of retirement in Florida. …

Baby Boomers in Retirement: We've got opportunities galore! 
Congratulations, you've made it to the golden years! Your much-anticipated retirement is here. Yet, for many baby boomers in retirement, the question …

Changes 
First off congratulations on your new endeavors helping Seniors. You should be proud. Second.. wondering if any seniors have dealt with not being able …

Second retirement 
I had my second hip replacement. My first one was last July. I am supposed to return to my little part time job in October but am finding myself with …

Quiet Time 
Many years ago, I wrote a post that, at the time, made a lot of sense. Seeing that I have not written in a while, I dug it out, read it, and decided to …

Movie about Death Choices 
Hi, If you would like to see a movie about someone's choice of how to die, try this movie called "slipaway". It is free on youtube. People …

How I conquered the emotion discomfort of retirement 
When I retired 4 years ago I felt lonely, bored, mildly depressed and anxious. Then the pandemic hit which made things worse. Then I remembered something …

Encore Career At 79! 
Hello Wendy ENCORE CAREER AT 79! When we moved to Geelong ten years ago - in anticipation of retirement - for the first two years my wife and I went …

Retirement--the best of our lives! 
Our retirement years can be regarded as the best of our lives. But what are we all retiring to? This can depend on our age and health. Anyone can experience …

Please buy and gift these Hip Protectors 
I believe we would all be much better off with these : I bought 3 pairs of the grey with hip, tailbone, and knee pads. They were 82 bucks each. https://www.dermasaverpr …

Retirement Observations 
seems some people want routines --like a placid brook nobody's see's --others are strait up --like a fish wanting to spawn --have a bucket list …

Help for Seniors Wanting to Remain at Home 
Here are some new ideas and innovations designed to help seniors remain at home and remain independent. The links are to Amazon to show you a page …

Six months to go - 2nd time around! 
Had scheduled to retire last December; about 2 mths before I took a week off to "test retirement" and frankly it sucked. I had not done the planning. …

No option but to retire 
My wife had been having cognitive and walking issues probably related to vascular issues in the brain area. She had a stroke around last Thanksgiving, …

Restless too Sometimes 
Hello. I have been retired for almost 10 years, and my youngest daughter moved about 9 years ago. I am 71 now and still feel restless from time to …

Retired Teacher and not Fulfilled 
Retired for over a year after 37 years of teaching and single for past 10 years. Gave all to my job and daughter. I am tutoring one student and got …

Social Security: Survivor Benefits Question 
I've been in the retirement/senior field for twenty-five years when employed and over ten years retired -- and guess what? This is NEWS to me! A …

Click here to write your own.

Zone Retirement.  
As we are now approaching, or have reached, the zone of retirement, we made it. Some retirees are zooming as boomers in their senior years. We now have …

Texts and hugs 
Even though the invention of the cell phone, Facebook and the internet are wonderful at times. I really miss hearing someone's actual voice. Most of …

Smashing Retirement. 
Yah, now we are sixty plus. We are not oldies, we are all in our prime time. It is our quest at our age to smash this prime time. This little old writer …

Flu Report 2022 
Last week, both Terry and I were sick with the flu. We had major headaches and body aches, coughs, stuffy noses, fatigue, no appetite, and more. It …

Home Sweet Home 
When it's COLD I stay in and talk to friends by ☎. I read, watch TV, and study Spanish, work digital crosswords and tend my birds and cats. When necessary …

Muy Bien: Senior Centers 
In February of this year I stopped by my local Senior Center to do my taxes, felt good vibrations and joined The Auburn Senior Center, a group of upbeat, …

FREE BOOK! A Hope-filled, "Third Act" Love Story - My Gift to You 
Like many other retirees I have encountered on this wonderful site, my Number One Bucket List item was to write a book. Well, almost nine years later here …

Retired, adjusting, connected and basically content. 
After 40 years as a minister/church pastor, I retired at 65. My wife of 44 years died one year prior. But I remarried a wonderful woman who literally …

Unretired! 
It seems like just yesterday. I awoke and decided, "It is time for me to retire!" My path ahead changed. I had been looking after a geriatric. His …

Lonliness 
I am a retired nurse and lost my husband 2 years ago... We were best friends and did everything together. Have little family far away and few friends. …

Options are a must! 
Before one retires, one might consider the satisfying options one will have if he or she retires. One might have a skill that one can use in part-time …

COVID 
I was sick last month. The week I was sick, I tested negative for Covid. Exactly a week later , I felt normal again, and took the test and it came out …

Genealogy, Anyone? 
I've been working on my family Genealogy. I have done this for ten years now but never mentioned it here. Does anyone use Ancestry.com as I do? I've done …

Glad to be Home! 
"Whew! Glad to be home!" I told myself, I made it. Home in one piece, one minute before it started raining. Do you tell yourself that too? I had just spent …

Feeling Sorry for Myself 
I have great grown children and I appreciate them. I am 79 years old, walk with a walker, and I am a widow. I live alone. And I feel very alone. My …

The Grey Brigade.  
While I sit here, reflecting on my recent past, I shall share my recollections of the Grey Brigade. This little term can describe some of the elderly players …

Do I have to go into assisted living 
I am terribly worried. In the past few weeks, I have left the stove burner on twice, once causing the house to fill with smoke, setting off a fire alarm …

What are Advanced Directives?  
This seminar was presented by the Final Exit Network and is written from my notes at the CSA conference. What are Advanced Directives? Do you …

Our Wheel is Turning.  
Yes, retirees, it is time to welcome life's later years. Our wheel of aging is turning. We accept this, and accept our own and each other's decisions. …

Words Gone By 
Got this in an email this morning ...too fun not to share it! Enjoy! Wendy Mergatroyd? Do you remember that word? Would you believe the spell-checker …

Instructions for Giving Your Cat a Pill 
Since I retired one of my duties is to care for our pets. Below are some instructions to help give a cat a pill. Our cat recently had a UTI and I found …

Seniors in Retirement. 
Do we ever really become seniors? Here, my day begins. I greet the morning with grin. Like my boomer friends and family, I enjoy good coffee, a light …

258 days 
I'm not retired yet. I'm 59...and a half; the only time you use half numbers is when you're 4 and approaching retirement. My wife is sick and likely …

Just Another Day in Paradise 
Hello folks. Summer is relentlessly cruising by. I've been reading a Harlan Coben novel that somehow escaped me, and here's a thought that rang too …

Dear Retiree: What are you doing? 
Hey, Wendy here. Well, the problem of no emails is because there were no new posts, so the server doesn't send anything out. Yikes! So, to send …

Click here to write your own.

please comment about my new hobby - Encore Geelong Network 
ENCORE GEELONG NETWORK How should I move forward? I have recently established a new network - it's basically a mobile management consultancy for …

Purpose 
Just keep on keeping on in retirement by being productive, in other words, have and keep a purpose about yourself! You can get a part-time job or a …

Senior Wit 
This is copied from an email I received. Just had to pass along! 1. I changed my car horn to gunshot sounds. People get out of the way much faster now. …

Loving my local Senior Center! 
I have been so happy to have joined my local Senior Center. They have so much to offer. I just went on one of the many day trips to Baltimore MD for …

Volunteering or shelter dog? My shelter dog IS my contribution 
Hello Everyone. I have been retired four years and am 66. Like many, I first retired one place and bought a house, then found that the environs were …

Using my skills again 
I'm finally coming out of my post-retirement slump. About time - I've been retired 4 years. How did I do it? By focusing on the joy of having my …

Almost like working again - but better 
Last year we were surprised by the news that our daughter and her husband (both aged 39) were expecting their first baby! Having thought that they didn't …

New normals 
Wendy, I am so sorry you have to go through that with your folks. "New normals" are not easy by any means, basically because we just do not want them. …

Happy Retirement 
We get up, get showered. Then we get dressed, eat breakfast. Personally, before I retired, I used to sit down at my desktop, doing zoomers for boomers. …

Susie  
Most of us are at an age where we lose loved ones due to their passing. I lost my younger sister, my best friend, my touch stone to cancer in December …

Time Has New Meaning  
When I was working I was always checking my watch or clock to see the time. I took transit most days to work so had to be on time for the bus. At work …

Retirement Nesting -- Gone Solo 
Life goes on, staying here now, enjoying a happy day with bells on. I am feeling too blessed to be stressed, since I moved here to this lovely unit in …

I'm Fighting with My Ego 
Lots of thanks go to Wendy and the retirement family. Thank you for the advice you give us. I thank God for protection up to now. We managed to go through …

I would like to share my blog with you. 
Hi, everyone! I have a video blog where I talk about what is happening around me and how I feel about it. I would be happy if you would watch it and …

Retirement Budgeting 
This is our noble and essential planning, retirement budgeting. But in the past little while, all our best-laid budgets have been tested. In reality, petrol …

How Do I Get Over this Loss? 
For the most part, I am happy with retirement. My partner and I were in the same grades in high school and actually got together 40 years later. When …

Applying for jobs as a hobby 
Hi friends, 3 days ago I got a text message saying there was a good job fit for me as an Amtrak conductor assistant. Sort of a 24/7 on all any shift …

Just Do It! 
My retired judge friend and I (ages 71 and 68 respectively) are heading out in couple of hours on an overnight road trip to Philadelphia to see THE EAGLES …

I'm Having Trouble with Gender Identity Pronouns 
Perhaps someone can help me understand, or at least explain, the increasing use of gender identity pronouns when describing oneself. Since December …

Purpose 
I loved reading your post about your pre retirement life and I was envious of that beautiful presentation of your efforts and accomplishments upon retirement. …

Chirpy the Retiree 
I woke up, thanks to the universe! I adorn myself with lucky undies, and look forward to a top day. I have retired totally, and can call myself “Chirpy …

Currently 58, retired at 56. NOT BORED. 
I am 58, have been retired for two years. I am not bored, and do not understand others who are. Perhaps you retired too early — financially. I’ve traveled, …

PAINT BY NUMBERS IS BACK!...... 
Hello retirees! Remember Paint-By-Numbers when you were little? I used to do them all the time when my parents took my sister and I to Florida to visit …

Retirement: How to get back into life 
Well, I really went on disability a few years ago, but my retirement actually started on January 18th this year. My husband passed away 3 years ago …

Retired, Just Not Tired…. 
Retiree, just not tired. Are we there yet? I sit here, a seenager, having coffee with old pals from my teaching days. I am so old, I taught Moses …

Click here to write your own.

9 months retired 
Hello Wendy and all fellow retirees. I turned 65 back on March 17 2021 and retired. I was very happy to finally be able to start enjoying life at …

Well I did it.. Now what. 
Let the Adventure begin. After 45 years I pulled the plug. My job is 24/7/365. In recent years I have not had a "vacation" that did not see me working …

Retired for 3 months and evolving 
I retired about 3 months ago. I also sold my home and took to the road. What I found was that I had a hard time relaxing. I kept wanting to just …

Keep a consistent routine 
I knew I was going to retire at 58, that day is here and I cannot wait! During COVID I built a gym in my basement and put everything in my calendar …

December 2021 Reflection  
So very odd time in America, 100 years ago in seed time time (childhood) learn--in harvest teach (adulthood) in winter enjoy (retirement-hood)--in modern …

Retirement Decision 
I turned 61 years old in September and am still working in a high-stress job. Deciding when to retire is a very important decision as there are no …

Retired a Year. Not bored so far. ===> Make A Difference. 
We have been hosting a weekly family and friends dinner for many years before I retired. We continue that today. It is a family tradition that we have …

Thanks for this Forum 
I retired 12 days ago. Right after, I traveled to Boston with my husband for 3 days and upon returning I seem to be just recovering. It's not that I can't …

Exercise. Subject for discussion... 
I don't know what happened to me. I retired 3 years ago. At 67, in July 2019 I did the 7-day 500 mile RAGBRAI bike ride after many months of hard training, …

Sapiens 
I read a lot because 1) I love reading, 2) it keeps my mind sharp, and 3) it consumes vast amounts of time. I am currently reading perhaps the most …

Looking for a Few Readers- Possible Sequel Coming? 
Book Giveaway. One of the things on my bucket list was to write a novel. A lifelong friend said no way would I would ever finish it. He suggested we make …

VIdeo Games on your Phone or Tablet? 
I never did video games, but I am addicted to SOLITAIRE on my tablet. Let me explain... First, My husband and I play RUMMIKUB with my sister and her …

Husband is driving me bat shit crazy 
My husband just got laid off a couple of months ago and decided he was going to retire. He always wanted to go to Texas when he retired, so we drove …

Retirement Not A Easy Thing 
Retirement: every working person's dream... then the big day. In a week, I was climbing the walls. I had all this time on my hands and nothing to do. …

Grief and loss 
Three years retired and hating every minute of it. Working with a therapist, I've finally realized that what I am dealing with - or not dealing with - …

Thank you God, Never Could Have Made It, Without You 
It will be two years the end of November 2021. I love being retired. I still keep a calendar but it is filled with things " I Love and Want to Do". …

WHAT do you see outside your home window? 
Yeah, weird question, but just think -- some of you look out at a parking lot, others see a large park, tall buildings, the roof across the street, homes …

Going on a trip and I am Scared 
My grown children have set up a mini vacation for me with my grown son and his family. My son lives 2 hours from me. Since their van will be filled …

Nothing to Do (a Poem) 
I woke up this morning with nothing to do. I looked at the cat and he said, "me too!" Together we walked 'round my tiny place looking …

Retired, no purpose 
After working for 47 years, finally retired. it has been about a year since i retired. it has been bored, it has been up and down, first the pandemic lock …

Nothing new under the sun 
I enjoyed reading Irwin's piece and his very good sense in seeing a new life in retirement. What would your 90-year old self tell you about living life? …

Hi feeling useless and lonesome-gotta get busy! 
Hi am 72-stopped teaching 5th grade 62. I was fine for about 2 years. I have no grandchildren and that is very tough on me. I formed a group of ladies …

Women Traveling Together 
I wanted a retirement 'gig' in travel. Being a flight attendant wasn't it, but I found it! I'm a tour leader with Women Traveling Together! Please …

A Complaint Free World 
I recently saw an ebook for a Complaint Free World . I decided to purchase it and have decided to embrace the idea of no more complaining. This is …

Terrified about COVID surge 
First of all, Wendy, so sorry to hear about your mother. I'm praying for her and you. This has been a bad week. My cousin died of COVID and our county …

Click here to write your own.

WHAT NON-STANDARD HOBBIES CAN YOU SUGGEST? 
FEEL FREE TO TELL ME ABOUT ODD-BALL HOBBIES I'm scratching in the embers of an almost dead fire, looking for non-standard hobbies. Since 2000 I have …

6 months into retirement 
I retired 6 months ago after working 48 years full-time in a very stressful profession. I even cashed in annual leave and LSL on occasions so work was …

Are we Victims of Retirement, or, Victorious VIP’s in Retirement? 
I have no embedded memory of ever fretting about the unavoidable retirement day, my own essentially, the precise date of which was listed in the diary …

Are we Victims of Retirement, or, Victorious VIP’s in Retirement? 
I have no embedded memory of ever fretting about the unavoidable retirement day, my own essentially, the precise date of which was listed in the diary …

I don't know how to feel... 
I try to stay upbeat and am basically a very happy person but don’t know how to go forward with the pain I am feeling now. My younger sister, my best …

Work Dreams 
Here I thought I was the only one! I've been retired almost 4 years and often have dreams about being at work and being called on the carpet for something …

I Lost My Best Friend Today 
I lost my best friend today, but my heart bursts with the joy of knowing that you, Sir Stanley, and I, a mere human, were best friends for most of your …

Choose Your Future 2021 
The chief beauty about time is that you cannot waste it in advance-the next year--the next day-the next hour are lying ready for you -as perfect and unspoiled …

For Those Who Are 60 yrs OLD and Above, Please Read This.  
I saw this on Facebook and it's a lot of reading, but it's also a lot of good advice... John M. Russ July 12 at 6:04 PM · FOR THOSE WHO ARE 60 …

Bad Work Dreams 
I just wanted to say that I relate to having stressful work dreams. I have had them for the past 5 years at least and am in mid 50s. They are repetitive …

Really scared 
My wife has always been my rock. She managed the family and the money. Recently she had ITAs, Parkinsons, cognitive and walking issues from a clogged …

Ho-Hum 
Yes I retired at age 60, with recent loss of both parents, single, and no kids and moved from California to escape fires and evacuations. It is a …

Adjusting to Retirement is a struggle, I didn't think would happen. 
Retired December 2019 along with my husband. All was great initially. Traveling in RV as planned. Was meant to be for 5 months but because of Covid …

Getting old 
I am not quite in my '90s yet, I am 73 but it's shocking the day you start feeling old. My life was going fine and I had my little health complaints …

Luckiest Guy in the World 
You know, after I read some of the issues retirees are struggling with, I feel like I am the luckiest guy in the world! Everyday I wake up I am so glad …

July 2021 Reflections / Choices  
Certainly interesting times in this universe. For those retiree's who look at their half glass of water and continue to be sad--buy some drums and …

Retirement after medical disability 
I became ill 23 years ago and had to do a medical disability. I always had boundless energy and wanted to work forever -- to be the oldest teacher …

Medicare Madness! Why is it so difficult to find the right medical plan? 
When I accepted the modest early retirement offer from my employer last fall, I didn’t anticipate the cost of medical insurance after I turned 65. I …

Think -- Feel Blessed if you have Health 
So many of us lament our sadness and loneliness and lethargic days since retirement. Most of us have had those days but think. If you have your …

Changing place of residency now 
Well, I may have pancreatic cancer. The tests were supposed to be back in last week, which would have given me six months plus a few days = time to …

The Dementia Missing 
The newspaper says that the number of dementia missing was 17,565 in Japan in 2020 and this is the highest. Most of them were found soon, but 527 out of …

Depression Tips 
The author is unknown, but I just had to post this interesting list of Depression Tips. These ideas are nothing new, nothing even exciting -- however, …

How can I attract retirees to my course on "Profitable Hobbies" 
I have been described as a "social entrepreneur" for my efforts to enhance the retirement lifestyles for members of my local community - which is affluent, …

Be careful when you ask the way 
This morning I read an interesting story in the newspaper. It appeared in the column of the readers’ voices. It was contributed by a woman at the age of …

Downsizing in a Hurry 
My mother lived to age 89 in good health, in a large rural house neatly kept but never throwing away anything, not even my baby teeth! She sat there …

Click here to write your own.

Rambling Thoughts Of An Old Psychologist 
I’m a psychologist, prone to thinking deeply. I have a mind always in wonder of the human mind. I find myself frequently sitting down on the bench …

Bitter-Sweet Decade 
Hello, I’m gonna be retired for ten years come end of the year. Unlike many of you here, I actually did not look forward to my retirement. I retired …

Athena-like Persona, Although Short  
Interesting Enough, an hour ago = I was just musing on how my life of 73 yrs. has seemed so charmed. I've faced down death at least a couple of times, …

Retired last week and have no energy 
I was so glad to see this site of postings because I retired last week after working 39 years and I am so exhausted. Despite sleeping at night and …

Some Stayed, Some Returned 
For their country they left their homes, all their families left alone. To a far-off country, they were sent, to lands unknown, and still, they …

Bored? Join the Club, 
I don't have the answer. I am coming up to 2 years since retiring early at 58. I'm going out of my head with boredom. I have developed that old person …

What benefits are generated by a "Profitable Hobby"? 
BIG PROMISE & BENEFITS For many years now I have been attracted to the concept of profitable hobbies, and finally (!) I have decided to teach what I …

Wow Sounds Familiar (Lazy Husband) 
I am "married" to my roommate (or teenage boy) instead of the partner I expected and he projected while we were dating. I am retired and dealing with …

Retired with a Big Old House. 
Well .. here goes. My wife and I are retired... she is 67 .. I am 71. We live in retirement friendly South Dakota. Our kids are grown and live a couple …

Guilt free grandma. 
After reading all this posts there is one response: GRANDPARENTS: STOP FEELING GUILTY. We deserve to be happy the rest of our lives. Our children …

Nothing To Do 
I woke up this morning with nothing to do. I looked at the cat and he said, "me too!" Together we walked 'round my tiny place looking …

Finding my Feet Again, at 76 
My measure of success has always been based around having a successful 'business" but at age 76, I've now concluded that I simply don't have the motivation …

My Go-to Pastime (don't judge me!) 
Don't believe that all Italian families are big or happy. I had two mentally deficient Italian-American parents, no siblings, very poor, my father …

A Chapter Closed 
2020 was a difficult year for everyone. Mine has been very bittersweet. My boss of 19 years died and several of my old friends from various illnesses. …

WHO is getting out?  
Hey, are you elders, like me, getting out yet? I had both vaccines so why am I still in the house? I am still abit reluctant to go out and yet, I wonder …

Gone is gone: wasted time 
2020 started out with my exercising via computer and doing tutorials. As the year wore on I stopped taking care of myself. From occasionally using a cane …

Rules to Enjoy Your Golden Years 
This is awesome. It’s long 21 reasons but it’s worth the read for older adults. 1. It’s time to use the money you saved up. Use it and enjoy it. Don’t …

Back seat driver 
I am a sixty years old woman whose husband can't shut his piehole when I am driving. I have an impeccable driving record, and excellent vision. The …

2021 Pandemic / Reflections 
Well over a year has passed since pandemic surfaced. The entire world caught off guard regardless of wealth or poverty. Toilet paper hoarding became …

Wills and Inheritances 
How a person Will's their estate on passing is a very personal matter. Do you divide everything equally among all living children to lessen the chance …

AAADD - Age Activated ADD 
According to a post by Lynn Saunders, in More Life Health Seniors Community, this is how it manifests: I decide to water my garden. As I turn on the …

An Unscheduled Life 
Reading stories over the past few months has been very interesting. They have also pointed out to me just how unique we all are. What may good advice …

Seenager 
I am a Senager. (Senior teenager) I have everything that I wanted as a teenager, only 60 years later. I don’t have to go to school or work. I …

The Hamster Wheel 
Many mornings as I sit at our front window enjoying my second, or sometimes, third mug of coffee I think about how similar retirement in the time of COVID …

My Hoarder Ex is my House-Mate 
I feel ya. (This post was written in response to another post , but I didn't want this to be missed as I bet others could help or be helped on the …

Click here to write your own.

I again awoke with heart pounding 
It's been years since this last happened. I retired 3.5 years ago and wish I didn't. At the time I felt like a trapped animal, in pain and afraid. …

Mask hides my big retirement smile 
I'm looking forward to my retirement, 31 May 2021. Have a new home, so will be busy putting in the yard, fence, possibly another KOI pond. That should …

Trouble Transitioning 
My plan was to work to at least 65 but job stress and anxiety became overwhelming with the company being acquired by a large Asian corporation...so many …

Tired of Trying 
I retired 10 ten years ago and since that time, my brother has moved in twice because of job downsizing. Our family relationship is not close. Since …

Counting the Days... 
After 21 years at the same company, I have 1 month to go until retiring at 62. The first 15 years or so here were pretty good, but new management …

Why do I keep obsessing about this? 
Hello friends. I thought I would reach out for some advice. My retirement is good. But over the past few years, I've wanted to move back to where I …

Retirement Options. 
Retirement time for many baby boomers, and there are options to be considered. Some retired people are contemplating becoming members of the SKI club …

DIFFICULT DAYS – OBVIOUSLY!? 
Having just scanned the recent comments of an apparently distraught, and all-together disillusioned spouse to a former, long-standing military man, (“Retired …

Why do I keep having this dream? 
Hello. I've been retired for 5 years now. And I am happily retired. Doing the things I enjoy daily. No complaints. But...I keep having basically the …

Transplant Retirement from a local's perspective.  
I live in a very small, old town. It's great and we all love it. Recently there has been a large influx of out-of-state retirees moving in and that's …

1000 Saturdays 
I sure wish I could credit the WISE Person who wrote this. Read this -- too good to be missed! Wendy The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings. …

So this is Life 
We are all in the same boat. We're in this together. Be kind. Be nice. Be a good neighbor. We'll get through this together. Are we all getting just …

Friends 
Over the last few years, I have lost most of the people I could count on when I needed to go do something or just talk. So now I'm retired and even …

Single Retired Solvant 
Having lost my partner a few years ago, getting over it was hard, but I have lots of interests which I lost all interest in !! When I got my head …

Now why did I come into the kitchen...? 
Yay "old age," that magical time when you can make the entire family go wherever YOU want to go, simply by saying, "Mom-Mom needs to stay close to a restroom"! …

Changes 
Hello, my husband and I retired about four years ago. We were thrilled to find each other and get married after our long-term marriages went south (death …

Cataracts, varicose veins! What's next? 
As of today, words on one of my favorite T-shirts tell a lie: “Made in 1956. All Original Parts.” My right eye now has a new synthetic intraocular lens. …

Celebrate Aging 
You know you are old when your childhood football hero is now doing commercials for Medicare. When your childhood crush and music heartthrob is now doing …

COVID 19 / 2021 / Reflections 1 
Interesting to see phase 2 of COVID 19, which is the logistics of vaccine distribution to the USA and other countries. Just a week or so the freight …

Relationship insights for men 
After getting divorced I asked myself: What do I have to learn from this? And so began my journey seeking wisdom on being a man in a relationship. I …

Are You Frozen Or Thawed 2020? 
After my morning walk today it occurred to me regarding Retirement / Reflection . We spent 30/40 years frozen in work and routines. It's each of our …

And just like that. Deadlines no longer govern my life. 
For the first time in my life, I don’t need to be anywhere at a specific time. It’s a strange feeling after 42 years of working, often with daily or …

Comparison Of 1918 Pandemic / 2020 Pandemic / Kindness  
I was researching the conditions back in 1918 to compare against our current 2020 environment because it was said 50 million people perished and I just …

Retired, lazy, bored, snooze king 
My work kept me travelling the world, been to almost every country. Loved my work. I thought retirement would allow me to do whatever I wanted to do. …

For Subscribers of- Retirement-Online...A FREE Novel 
Like many of you, I wondered for a while what to do with myself when I retired. Then, I recalled that I had made a bucket-list in the years leading up …

Click here to write your own.

Where to be after retiring? Am I a burden? 
I retired 5 years ago and live with my children in their respective homes during the year per their request. My apartment is rented back home. I work …

COVID 19 / Reflection December 2020 
First time in my lifetime I am observing the uneasiness in Americans not having an instant solution to a global life-threatening phase. The pandemic …

Nostalgia Winter of Old 
Last winter and for the last six, I've put together this display for the community room of my senior apartments. It's a walk down old days lane. The …

Retired May 01, 2020 YIKES!!! 
After 30 years of service as a Property Manager, I was relieved to turn my cell phone off. 9 months later, finding that my so called friends have subsequently …

What's YOUR Purpose In Retired Life? 
When I first retired 4 years ago, I said to myself, "What now? What is my purpose in life anyway?" Here's what came out from those thoughts, and I never …

45 Years work and 4 years retirement wasted. 
I was a postman for 45 years. Retired 4 years now. Hàd all the help possible but stuck with no purpose. No motivation and family had enough of …

Do you find congratulations on retirement ironic? 
Do you find congratulations on retirement ironic? Endure because if corrected, a well intended lecture to alleviate your misinformed perception begins? …

Going to take the plunge 
I'm a retired junior high teacher, but husband and I decided to purchase a home in AZ as the COL is so much less and he can finally retire. We play golf …

Lonely Nester 
Hi, My name is Mary. I raised 6 kids. 5 boys and one girl. Now that I'm 67 years old. My kids don't visit me. I have a daughter who lives near me but …

Hello... Anybody out there? 
Hi ...here we are again! Locked up..it's my birthday at the end of the month and my husband David and I would usually meet up and go out for a lovely …

Once a Fair Wife on the Shores of Lake Michigan - Eighteen Years in Manistique 
About Ruth Kirkpatrick by Ruth My views of life are with a heart of todah, thanksgiving, and I'm a conservative woman of nearly 78 years of age presently. …

I voluntarily signed into a first class Assisted Living facility 
It's been three years this month that I made the decision rather than have some family member do it. Because of several medical conditions it made it unwise …

Retired and regret it 
After 38 years of corporate sales and climbing the ladder to a high paying and high profile job, I hit a wall one day and turned in my retirement notice. …

Retirement gets better 
So the last time I posted here 18 months ago I was down, depressed, insomniac, and thinking about suicide My plan was to hang myself in a vacant garage …

Good Advice 
Several letter writers have suggested doing what you enjoy. I agree. I enjoy doing nothing and am doing it just as often as possible. The very …

You've just got to count your blessings (COVID in the Canary Islands) 
For all those people who are suffering either because they personally have Covid 19, or they know someone dear who has it, or even if they've managed to …

76 and still hanging in there. 
I don't mind writing and sharing but am 76 now and not a whole lot has changed since I joined and wrote my profile. Of course things have happened to …

Home more? No worries! 
It's getting to the point when I do go out whether it's the market or a short run somewhere. Seeing masks and not having interaction with people is very …

Pandemic loneliness 
I am single and just retired in April. I am loving retirement and I had a page and a half of possible things for me to do during retirement. BUT …

Newly retired school counselor  
I retired in January from being a school counselor. After 32 years in the education system I couldn’t wait to get out, not getting up before dawn was a …

Retired Founder/CEO 
I am also in the same boat as many. My husband has been retired for about 18 years he does nothing but sit, he won't go anywhere, not to movies or …

How would this work? (wheelchairs, crutches, etc.) 
What if I collected things like wheelchairs, crutches, canes, bath chairs, and loaned them out to over 65 people who needed them? Would there be liabilities? …

Retiring is lonely if still single. 
I retired 8 years ago (Dec 31.13) and find I do the same things like I was at work! I get up early get coffee drive to work, work then head out for …

Nervous Nellie (Driving Fears) 
Fear of Driving on highways, and especially bridges. Every time I try and get close, I get the heebeegeebees. Get an anxiety attack. Used to drive …

Is this it? 
Retired Dec 2011. Went on cruises, babysat grandkids, went to the gym. Have to watch $$$ so no more cruises, grandkids started schools or moved away. Now …

Click here to write your own.

So Happy To Still Be Here 
Hi My name is Mary, I retired in 2016 after working for 35 years in the healthcare field As a registered nurse and healthcare administrator. Retirement …

Did my life just die? 
Hello. I am 61 years old and have been living in an assisted living facility for a year. My brother lives 60 miles away but rarely visits me. COVID19 …

fires in Portland 
Well, as I sit here, I see ashes falling from the sky. Unfortunately, my windows were open when it started, and our side door had broken off the hinges, …

Phone Spam and Scammers 
September 13, 2020 Here’s an interesting thing that happened to me regarding phone spam and scammers. Since 10 minutes after Verizon installed our …

20/20 Pandamic / Retirement Reflections 
So interesting the evolution of the Virus. Huge 500,000 plus motorcycle gathering in Sturgis North Dakota, will be curious what happens when they leave? …

US Census workers are humans too 
3 years in to retirement and after a difficult adjustment, I finally found a well-paying part time temporary job as a Census enumerator. It's a job …

Sunny again 
Feeling in a better mood this week as the summer has returned. It has been so cold over here that we had to put the central heating on several occasions. …

Coronavirus took my energy 
I retired 13 months ago and was doing fine, had a plan to downsize out of this home. The house is OK but the yard is killing us and we're not as into …

Newest COVID Scam 
If you get a call like this -- BEWARE, this is a SCAMMER Call. "Good morning. According to our system, you are likely to have been in close proximity …

Retirement and Prescription Drugs: Love/Hate Relationship  
Prescriptions, yes, I take a few... most retirees do. This is simply my two cents on Drugs -- sometimes they are necessary, other times they are not. …

Daily Tasks in Retirement 
In a Facebook Group, someone wrote about having a chore or project that had to be squeezed into your day, before retirement, and now takes all day to do …

Semi retired 😒 
I've been semi-retired for 6 months. Living with daughter and her family. Was on my own and had an amazing practice as a psychotherapist. I would …

Gay pride 
Hi From England Had news this week that didn't really surprise me that much...my elder daughter told me she was gay. She has been through two disastrous …

Retirement and COVID 
They say a journey of 1000 steps begins with one step. However that is the hardest step to take. Due to being ill with the virus and nearly at retirement …

Covid 19 & Retirement / Reflection 
Anyone read WSJ article today July 29 2020 ? Seems interesting if the article is in fact true. The country of Sweden didn't lock down like most countries. …

Cold over here 
Feeling a bit down this week. The weather in England is soooo cold. What with that and the Coronavirus feeling a bit low. To cheer myself up, I am …

Retirement Reflections Appreciated 
What would we do if we were unemployed ? Retirement / Reflections really is true unemployment! Instead of unemployment benefits --you get Social Security …

Calling All Female Retirees 
I am about to retire and I have some of the silliest concerns you can just imagine, that believe it or not, could (not saying they will) cause some depression …

Bored, Life Changes... 
I retired at 52 with pension after 30 years. Wanted to spend it doing volunteer work at church. Did that, but not enough to keep me busy. Was offered part-time …

Grateful  
Hello All and thank you for all your stories. I retired 3 weeks ago, after 30 years of hard charging federal service as a federal prosecutor, including …

Your Retirement Reflection Gift 
So unusual to see everyone wearing a mask. People who are still working keeping this great country on track so we can endure a once in a century census …

Let's Talk about Monthly Bills: Then Vs. Now 
Today, I have no internet and no cable tv and we are waiting for Comcast repair to get here. I am writing this offline and will cut and paste to the site …

Surrounded by cornfields 
Covid19 made an already lonely life even more lonely. My last child has gone to college, friends are married with families of their own. My house …

Why don't men have as many hobbies as women? 
I was forced into retirement at age 62 and was disappointed this happened and struggled for several years. However, I developed many hobbies and a large …

Our New Retirement Lifestyle... 
What is some good advice for any retired person for our lifestyle in this time of Coronavirus pandemic? Well, those most at risk are those over 65 years …

Click here to write your own.

Retired Late 
I retired 7 weeks ago at the age of 73. 56 years working. I loved my last job that I had for 10 years until I did not like it anymore. According …

Gratitude is always the answer 
I learned some important life lessons early on which is why I am able to look at all life brings me, including retirement, through the gratitude lens. …

Newly Retired Church Pastor 
66 years old, retired 3/2020 after 40 years in ministry. Lost my wife of 44 years to long term illness and brain cancer. My son was nearly killed in Afghanistan. …

Don't be afraid to find closure 
For 14 years I have been a widow. Not a happy marriage in the last years. Won't bore you with that story. In my mind, I always wondered about the guy …

RN Retiring 
Two more shifts and I will be done. Officially retired after 44 years of Nursing. I have to admit it's pretty scary. It is fear of the uncertainty …

Work Dreams 
I was laid off from two jobs. One I had worked 18 years and the last was 4 years. In my dreams, I am always with former coworkers and for whatever reason, …

I don't know how to retire 
I do not know how to retire... I do not know where to retire. I do know that retirement time is close... I am lost!! I constantly search the WEBB …

I Used to be a Normal Person 
As a man, I used to think I was pretty much just a regular person, but I was born white, into a two-parent household which now, whether I like it or not, …

Further Reflections on Reflection 
I am a baby boomer retired going on 6 years and found some profound solace reading our USA and in some cases European history to appreciate how we arrived …

I have no one  
Hi I am 77 yrs old and live alone. I have 5 dogs which I love very much. Is a lot of activity around here, they don't eat together or play together. so …

My Mornings 
Part of my retirement new life is waking up on my own without an alarm clock, sipping a cup of coffee, listening to birds chirping and paying attention …

Pandemic Blues 
So, what does one do to pass the day during the Pandemic? For excitement, I go shopping, usually about every two weeks, making the rounds through Costco, …

Funerals are for the Dead – Not for disillusioned Retirees! 
There thrives a present-day phenomenon which now traditionally and inexplicably exists when people invariably come face-to-face with the funeral rites …

BEHIND THOSE EYES 
In observing old folks in personal care homes, and those who haven't 'arrived' yet, I occasionally notice sunken, listless looking eyes that almost appear …

Happiness Is... 
I have been re-studying a Happiness class. I've taken so many notes, learned new activities and simply understand this elusive thing called Happiness …

It Took A Virus To Reveal Retirement 
Being a baby boomer we saw our parents World War 2 faces. We were expected to go to college, trade school, or job surf. Raise a family or not still had …

My Journey  
My husband and I had always dreamed of retiring at age 55. When we got here, insurance being so expensive and all, he wanted to keep working and encouraged …

Just devastated 
We moved from NY to Florida to babysit for our new grandchild. I watched her from early morning to early evening Mon-Fri. Sometimes on the weekends, also. …

it helps to prepare  
I retired about 4 months ago. I had worked 38 years in State Correctional Facilities. For the most part I liked the work but it was stressful. It was also …

Define Retirement 
A Facebook group was asked to define Retirement in a few words. As you browse the list, you will see many retirement definitions that you will agree …

Retirement /Coronavirus  
On July 1, I will have been retired for six years! I can honestly say that I have enjoyed every single day of my retirement. I enjoyed my job, but …

Retirement and Coronavirus 
As most of us are confining ourselves to our residences, we may be watching more TV. Last week I happen to catch an episode of Dr Phil on the mental …

Retired and still very active 
I retired 5 years ago after being a secretary for 30 years. I rented my apartment and now spend time at each of my three adult children's homes during …

Retirement History 
The country of Germany introduced retirement benefits in 1889. Prior to that most people passed away between 26 and 40 years old. So it isn't a surprise …

What I Learned So Far in Retirement  
Proof's In the Pudding I have a lot of notebooks. Boxes of them. Most people call them “journals”, but for most of my life I’ve scratched out with …

Click here to write your own.

Lifestyle of the retired: Time to Learn Something New 
Someone asked me the other day what I liked the most about retirement. I answered that now I have time to learn anything I want to learn. I can even …

Retirement Reflections 
It turns out retirement is another chapter of life that has to be experienced to accept just as learning a trade, skill, or college and getting a job to …

Retirement Job Description  
Many of us had job descriptions that outlined our duties and obligations. Benefits were also included. Treat retirement the same. List what your duties …

Anyone had similar experiences? 
I retired 4 years ago, have been divorced for 15 years, kids are grown/live far away/busy with their own lives, as they should be. I retired because …

Living in Assisted Living -- A Residents Perspective 
Preparing For Assisted Living— If you are now in your 50’s /60’s you stand an excellent chance of requiring some kind of Assisted Living in your later …

Disability Retirement: MS - Surrendering 
I am 55 years old and have been dealing with MS for 17 years. I have had the disease for at least 21 years. I am still working, but I will not be working …

WHY are so many New Retirees UNhappy? 
Why Oh Why are so many retirees unhappy? I post story after story from anxious, depressed new retirees on my site. Those stories get lots of feedback …

Finally Retired after 48 Years: Will I be a Hermit? 
Wow - am I glad I found this site!! After running my own retail and music lesson business for 48 years, I finally did it. I retired in November 2019. …

Retirement - The Best Time Of Life 
Seriously, so something hurts once in awhile. So what? Take an Aleve and get on with life. You've reached an age where you can do what you want, not …

Lonely in Retirement 
Today is my birthday, I'm 66, retired 1 year ago from nursing. My husband was not well, the last year of working was very difficult due to his need …

A Dog in Our Life 
Having a dog in the house is something we considered, but didn’t finally look into, until retirement. Living in a 55 and over community is good but …

Sometimes life is just a series of little events that make me laugh 
I’ve been retired for about a year and have not found myself to be bored or at a loss for something to do. Each day is a series of small events that I …

My Current Retirement (2 Years) 
I retired a little over 2 years ago. Went through the loss of daily contact with co-workers (huge loss to me because I do love to chatter for a few minutes …

Retired Three Months Ago 
When I first retired, I went through a major cleaning phase. Even got new flooring in the living room and hallway - something I've been wanting to do for …

Start a Retirees Travel Club - in your own city! 
I have a new friend - who has established a travel club for seniors in our own city (Melbourne, Australia). Seniors here are entitled to a $2 fare to …

Feeling depressed 
I retired 6 years ago. Shortly after retiring I became caregiver of my parent. I have since gotten her in a skilled facility. I was so depressed …

Retirement and the Remote Control 
The TV remote control is a necessary evil nowadays. When I was working; I watched the news in the morning and at night then finished the evening with a …

Retirement Detox  
If you are just retiring, you need to detox all those years of employment and the hustle and bustle of everyday life! It's time to relax. Yes, I realize …

Sandwiched, Alone and Depressed 
I am facing retirement in 3 months and I am at a loss. I have lived in my house for over 30 years as a hard working single mom, far from my family. …

Too old to move? 
We’re in our early 70s and have been caring for my parents for the last seven years. Dad has Alzheimer’s and is 94. Mom is 91 and had a mild stroke. My …

Been There, Done That! 
How many of you remember the movie “Back to the Future” (I know some of you can’t remember back to the mid 1980’s but try anyways)? If you will recall …

I love to write poems. So here's one. 
Here we are retired... Sometimes so alone... But we must take the changes... And fix them for our own. We can choose a hobby... there's a world …

Getting out of a black hole? 
I'm 67, been retired now for 18 months, and like so many, dealing with boredom, depression, apathy, and lack of joy and motivation. For the first 15 …

Bored after retiring and moving area 
We moved to a small town by the sea 6 months ago. I find it difficult to make friends and life has become boring. I do have a wife and two sons but …

My position was eliminated so I was displaced at 64. What do I do now? 
I have 30 years in a career within a difficult business and I will take a chance and say what the field was and hope I will still get some help, support, …

Click here to write your own.

Newly Retired 
I’m retiring at age 61, was wanting to go to 62, but had to take a health insurance option that will not be available if I stay until 62. I am very …

Retirement Adventures 
I'm 68 years old and retired at 62. I lost my wife almost 6 years ago to ovarian cancer after 34 years of marriage. Of course she's still gentle on my …

Retired 3 Weeks: No Energy 
I retired three weeks ago, I workout every day but am having a difficult time with my energy. I feel like I just want to lay in bed with the covers …

Bored...omg I am so darned bored.  
I am retired and soon to be 66. I have yet to be married and it sucks. Haven't had a date for over 15 years. Quit smoking. Gained over 100lbs. Got …

Men's friendships as we age 
One of the things that seems to be a common challenge for people is maintaining social connections after retirement. This episode of Hidden Brain is very …

Retirement and Cancer 
After I retired I was diagnosed with cancer and the news was devastating but not terminal. I’ve been through chemo never stopped believing that I would …

Feeling lost 
It's been four years since I took a voluntary buyout at from my full-time job and I've hit rock bottom Looking back on it now, I didn't realize how much …

Sick and depressed about it: COPD 
Horrible week. I thought adjusting to retirement was tough. Now I've been diagnosed with COPD and am on oxygen. I feel like my life has just shrunk …

Moving away from adult kids, grandkids. 
I am about to retire at 65. Lost my wife of 44 years in 2018, after decades of illness. I remarried this year, thrilled about it, we knew each other …

Meeting the Challenge to Earn an Income while in Retirement 
Working in Retirement: Facebook Group Join us in the Working In Retirement Facebook Group where we can discuss the questions below! Maybe I'm …

Lazy spouse 
My husband retired 3 years ago, has gained over 100 lbs and watches a lot of TV and on computer. Since he retired he doesn't want to do things he did when …

Too Much of A Good Thing 
I have been struggling to find answers as to why I can't seem to get motivated to do the things I want to do. I thought it was brain fog or depression …

Looking Back One Year Later 
Well I’m retired now almost one year to the day. I remember last September 11 when I picked up the phone and told the HR lady I was retiring. I may as …

Studying Abroad 
My name is Hiroshi. I am Japanese and 82 years old. I used to be an English teacher at schools. After retirement, I still continue studying English. …

Finding myself again 
I tell you, it is not easy moving to a foreign country where you've been coming on holiday for years and think you can make it work actually living there. …

Mentoring Keeps You Young at Heart! 
In my book 'Retirement A New Adventure', I encourage fellow retirees to pass on their wisdom through mentoring. I write: "A mentor is someone who advises …

Sitting inside while the brambles attack the house.. 
Finished work two months ago, my own business & very stressful after 27 years. Loads of plans: lose weight, join a gym, attack the garden which had been …

Six Month Retirement Mark  
Hooray! Six months ago I retired at age 60 after a very productive but highly stressful career as the lead attorney of a large national corporation. I …

Bored? Too Negative 
I can't relate to this "bored" declaration. I retired at 58. There are ongoing educational classes, sports and walking activities for the 50+ cohort. …

Retirement gray zone 
After too many jobs to mention from the USMC to my last 25 years as a paramedic it was always work. Finally at 61 my body and temperament couldn’t …

Retirees: What changes after you retire? 
When you retired, what surprised you? These are things you possibly might not have considered. You go through a retirement transition, after you retire, …

Driving Anxiety 
Last week my husband and I drove 5 hours to visit my sister. I thought it was a fine idea initially to take this trip. I've made this trip hundreds of …

Do You Have a Plan for your Life in Retirement? 
I enjoy reading stories from fellow members here about how you made your move to retirement and what activities you are involved in now.  We all experience …

New to the 'Retirement Club' 
After working 37 years in a high-stress Public Health position + being a single parent for most of those years, I retired 3 weeks ago at the age of 62. …

Existential Crisis...... 
Hello, My name is Partha. I am based in Chennai, in the Southern State of Tamil Nadu in India. Last year, I put in my papers with the intent to hang …

Click here to write your own.

Day Planner 
Are you a person who needs structure in your daily regimen? Get yourself a daily planner and make up a daily schedule. Write down what you plan to do …

Gift of Time 
Why can't you find joy in anything? Have you asked yourself that question? Do you have friends you can meet now and then for a meal or at a coffee …

Has anyone seen my energy? 
. . . and if so, could you please return it to its rightful owner? Seriously, I quit working almost 6 months ago and have been getting PLENTY of rest, …

Top 3 Problems with Aging 
So, my friends and I were talking about getting older and what things we hated the most about it. And yes, we said hated! Three things were the most …

Retirement Sucks 
I retired in 2018 age 66. Biggest mistake of my life. Retirement sucks. I wake up every morning asking myself what the hell do I do today. I spread …

Boredom Bashing 
Over the years I've noticed that a majority of the comments are about the adjustment to retirement and feeling some boredom. And if you've been employed …

It’s Time to Convert 
Did I get your attention? LOL. I was forced into retirement at 58 for age bias and health reasons but I’m not writing about that. I’m over that. I’m …

What to do? 
I retired when I was 66 years young. I knew it was time and didn't look back and I have had no regrets! The first two months I didn't do anything. …

Plan Ahead (You May Need One) 
As my dear old dad used to say. Along with things like "Wake up and die right!" which probably encouraged me to want to sleep in. Anyway, I retired …

NOT Bored 
Retirement is what one makes of it. If you are bored with nothing to do in life then that is YOUR choice. There are so many free programs in communities …

Just Existing 
Moved from a comment on: "Retired: I'm not living anymore.....just existing" page... I am only existing - you took those words from MY mouth! …

B.O.R.E.D. 
I retired at 67 and have been retired for 2 years now. I am totally at a loss as to what to do. I'm married but my wife isn't retired and she has no …

Yeah retirement sucks,I tend to agree 
I just wasted 3 years of being retired. Mostly it been an adventure of boredom, anxiety and depression. I try to keep a schedule, have done some volunteer …

Continuing On  
Changes caused by living longer. More severe reaction to an unknown allergen, more trips to the local ICU and a long rehab. The mind finally realized …

Retired and Turned into a Vampire! 
I was forced into retirement in 2013 at the age of 59. I did grieve my job and looked for other jobs for 2 years. Didn't even get any responses to my …

40 years and scared 
I'm retiring in 2 days from a job of 40 years. It is so much of my identity. It makes me feel competent and i really enjoy the people I work with. But …

Best thing ever!! 
I retired at 50 from a horrible Government job. Some people think it was foolish to walk away from a high paying job. Not me, how can you spend all …

Retirement brings out the true person. 
My thought and experience as a wife of a retiree....retirement really unveils who they are. Let's not, and I don't fool myself, annoying habits were …

Purpose/Desire 
Retired at 69. The department I was a part of in a law office shut down. Was happy I didn't have to look for a job and could "ease" into retirement. …

I hate being "retired" 
I am 71, healthy, active, and my healthcare providers can't believe I am actually the age I profess to be. I retired at 70 from a high-performance but …

Doing Nothing 
I am just happy doing nothing. For so long I've been so busy, raising kids, working full time, looking after a house, commuting to work, etc, etc. …

Retirement Blues. Why? 
Missing and grieving over your pre-retirement job? Really? Wow, you clearly must have been heavily invested personally in your work. To be fair, I …

6 months to go or maybe 7!  
I’ll be 63 in November and plan on retiring at the end of this year, maybe December 1 or 31! It depends how long I can hold on! My husband has been …

Loss of Purpose 
I have no idea why I'm still on the planet. I always had a goal. I had two careers and all the education that goes with that. Although I wasn't …

Bored? So much you can do! 
In general I cannot believe my ears when people say this. You can now live on your terms. There are things called hobbies, you can buy a guitar and …

Click here to write your own.

The Life of a Nomad 
In one week, I'm going to hit my 6 year retirement anniversary. Within 24 hours of retiring, I hit the road in my RV. For the past 6 years, I have …

No TV During the Day 
I live in a 55+ adult community and love it, but I am active both in and out of the community I live in. Before I retired, a retiree that I knew suggested …

Retirement Shock 
My retirement has certainly been a strange journey. I keep thinking I’m on vacation and will return to my job soon. I even tried a volunteer job which …

Vindicated far more than bored... 
I was "forced" to retire 19 days before my 66th birthday last year. So, for the record, I started working full time, the day after graduation from high …

Definition of Retirement: How do YOU define this odd time of life? 
I was email/chatting with Carrie this week, and part of her email just struck me as a great Retirement Definition. I was WOW'd and thought I'd share …

No Intelligent Activities in Senior Complex 
I have been living in a senior apartment complex for four years. I like my apartment despite its small size but I am frustrated that the only activities …

Lost 
I did adjust to being off and sort of liked it. Take a lot of naps though and then I get nothing done. Didn't do much on my list of things to get done …

A good day starts with the tiniest effort 
Like most retirees, I experienced decades of education, career, running a business, caring for parents and then my disabled partner. And what a letdown …

Movie Review: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011)  
The Best Exotic Marygold Hotel, is a movie all about aging with hope, which is based on a 2004 novel "These Foolish Things", by Deborah Moggach. …

Everyone seems to think I have all the time in the world now 
Hey, I'm retired. But I'm still busy, busier than ever, it seems, with my church, my community library and several other organizations. But people …

8 months into retirement - partially forced 
I worked as a senior tax manager in the corporate commercial department of a large regional CPA firm. I retired about 8 months ago at 62 1/2 ( after 20 …

Bored  
I retired to take care of my 99 year old mother. I am happy to do that but i am bored as all we do is shop. I look forward to supper, that's the high …

What's the matter with me? 
I totally understand your wonderment at all of these new feelings and habits. i retired as a counseling psychologist in 2013. i still work two day …

Retired & Lonely, I feel it too 
It's sad yet comforting to know that I'm not the only one who thought he wanted to retire more than anything in the world and realizes, 1-1/2 years and …

New At This 
Hi everyone I've been in great health all my life. Retired at 55...I look 40..😉 I'm 58 now. But....it feels weird some mornings with nothing to do. …

Road to Perdition? 
I retired in May of 2016 at age 66 from a university staff position that kept me very busy. I was also taking lots of free classes that the university …

Finding myself again (in the Canary Islands) 
When my husband and I retired (from London in the UK) we chose to live in a place where we had holidayed many times, Puerto Rico, Gran Canaria in the Canary …

Unexpected at 52 
My father and mother had a terrible car accident back in 2017, my dad did not survive and my mom was badly injured. She moved in with us to help care …

Physical Activity As We Age 
20 years ago Scuba Diving to 100 ft. was a challenge I accepted and met. White Water Rafting on a Force 5 river was another. Walking and carrying a bag …

Meaning in Retirement 
Hello! I'm a 68-year-old widower and have been retired for six years. I've read so many retirement posts that have a real sense of "lostness" about them... …

Enjoying retirement, REALLY 
I don't have a set time to do anything, but I know what needs to be done, and relatively when. I just do what I can, when I do it. To some people, …

Retirees Living in Assisted Living 
Now that I have lived for several months at Assisted Living and hearing better, I have had a chance to visit with a number of the residents. I thought …

Two weeks left 
I am retiring in two weeks. I am 67 and thought it was time. I am in sales and call on my customers weekly. Not sure if I made the right decision but …

Something needs to be done: Medical Field 
I am a rehab professional of 23 years. I am 59 years old. I was "pushed" out of a 10 year job along with other coworkers thru underhanded methods. …

Feeling Anxious: Hip Replacement 
This really isn’t about retirement but about people who are at that age. I have recently been advised to get a hip replacement. Can anyone out there …

Click here to write your own.

No motivation 
I have not worked for 8 years. I was laid off and then two years later my Mom and best friend died. I tried getting another job but same old story, late …

Bored with nothing to do 
I have been retired for two years after working for 38 years. I am so bored and I think depressed at the same time. I got divorced at the same time I retired. …

Looking forward to Retirement  
I am looking forward to retiring early at the age of 53 in 2020 after working for about 30 years. Saved diligently over the years. This site has really …

How to Deal with Problems in Small Groups 
I like to volunteer and to start my own interest groups. I have wondered how to deal with some on-going problems, such as cliques in small towns, bullying, …

Hard Retirement and Son Died 
I retired at age 69, only been retired 2 months and everything went downhill. Rarely ever sick and been sick the whole time with no let up. As if that …

You Need a Retirement Mentor 
I had a mentor. Larry is his name. He lives down the block and asked me if I planned to retire (he is a little older than I and already retired.) Here …

65 single woman heading into retirement without a clue of what to do 
I'm 65 and will be retiring by the end of the year. I've been alone for the past 19 years and will most likely be single through retirement as well. …

Sort of planned it..... 
I recently retired on December 14, 2018, a couple of years earlier than my target date. I decided a year ago to do it while I'm still relatively healthy. …

Still Working It Out 
I just retired on June 30th after 36 years of teaching. It was time. So far, I have learned to bake bread, booked a trip to Israel, learned how to …

Given Up 
I too have just given up. Life is no fun anymore. Everything seems to have roadblocks. I retired a year ago and do not leave the house with …

Retirees Living in Assisted Living 
Well here I am, an 84 year old single, still retired male living in a first class Assisted Living Facility. So what do I do on a daily basis to stay …

Become a student at Retirement University 
Yo Guys, if you are planning retirement, here is a suggestion to get your mind in focus. Become a perpetual freshman in Retirement University. The …

Retired 26 years ago, no regrets 
I Retired 26 years ago at age 59 and have no regrets. I am now 84 years old and though I am no longer scuba diving, bungy jumping, white water rafting, …

A Retirement Acrostic 
R elish E very T ime I I R eceive E ach M emorable E xperience: N ew T imes

Get Off the Damn Couch and Do Anything! 
Retired after 40+ yrs. Took a vacation with hubby for 2 weeks. Been home for 2 weeks. Did a vision board for 2019, was excited. Now, still stuck on …

My New Job: My Health 
I have been retired since last Feb 2018, at 65. I understand what you are feeling. It's cold here and the hills we live on are slippery in the winter. …

Totally Lost 
Forced into early retirement at 57 due to health issues. Other than 4 years in college, have worked since I was 15. Geez, it's not fun. I think it …

Early Retirement Blues 
It has taken me almost 4 years to learn to slow my pace to that of other retired folks. I worked three part time jobs the first two years I retired. …

Get Better? Not. Retirement Stinks! 
I retired three years ago from a great job in NYC with firecracker dreams that have fizzled. Love the outdoors and could not wait til I left NY to …

Retirement Changes Things 
My husband retired at 62. We have been married for 46 years. Retirement rearranges the dynamic between couples. Both have to find a new identity and …

3 Weeks in, Getting used to Retirement 
I am rather limited in what I do because I did not retire with a pension or any savings. I just live on old age pension, my husband works though. But …

Adjusting to a New Reality 
Retired at the end of December after 31 years with local government. I'm 58 and wanted to stick it out to 60 but things just got too crazy. I left …

Bored 
I am up in Canada it is cold up here in the winter. Normally we had south for the winter Florida, this I the first winter I have had to be home. I …

Security: Any ideas? 
Someone felt the need to try to break into my small garage door while I was off visiting my sisters. Only the padlock held them out. I thank the Lord for …

Bored? Try ACTING! 
When I retired at 60, I sat around for 4 years, before I got really bored. I decided to try acting as a backgound actor in film and TV. You don't really …

Click here to write your own.

18 months retired  
I have been retired since 2017. My husband retired 10 months later. I would love to say something good but, in truth, I feel if I don't go back to work …

Busy Means Happy! 
I often foster medical small puppies, and sometimes pregnant moms... tiny dogs keeping the puppies til weaned or I have had enough of the poop (smile). …

Retirement: New Routines 
If you miss routine, make your own new routine. For instance, there is this guy in my town who used to work for the Post Office. Anytime I go to a certain …

Who the Heck are You? 
Yesterday my much younger husband and I, (Ms. Retiree for two years), drove up to a coffee shop. Inside We saw a group of coworkers. I opened my car door …

My Early Retirement story 
I am 55 years old and have been retired for 2 months. I planned for this retirement for years and I had multiple spreadsheets showing my past spending …

Keeping mentally challenged 
I was laid off in 2011 and have not worked since. I looked for a job for a long, long time but nothing really panned out. Then my Mom got sick and after …

2018 Update from 2013 post 
I wrote "Regret so far by: Anonymous " in 2013 and a follow up in 2014 on trying to get back the college job I early retired from like an idiot. Who would …

Problems with two neighbors on both side of house. 
I really don't know what to do, I have retired but my husband hasn't he is an over the road trucker and he went out bought a new pickup which has to be …

My Plan: First Two Months of Retirement 
I am four months away from early retirement and my mind is reeling right now . There is excitement as well as fear of the unknown. It is that fear …

Lonely, frustrated, and in pain 
My husband and I are both retired. Seven years ago we built a house on 77 acres of wooded land in the middle of nowhere which is my husband’s hometown …

3 months till retirement, and I don't think I'm going to make it 
Well, I am 1 month, 19 days and 12 hours away from my retirement at 66 YOA. I am finding that I do at times think I'm not going to make it. We have …

Life Is Not a Rehearsal-Don't Treat it Like One. 
Looking for a spicy book to read, check it out on Amazon. I just want to weigh in here for all of the retirees that feel like they are drifting …

Retirement: When the World is Falling Apart 
If you are feeling like your world is being torn apart (and it rightfully is when you retire), nothing is the same - suddenly. Watch this video. …

I think I am losing my mind! Did I make the wrong decision??? 
I am 56 years old and a newly retired school administrator. I retired early as I was being moved in my final 6 months after I was promised that I …

I retired 2 months ago 
I retired 2 months ago after 34 years of working. The last 6 years have been stressful at work. My blood pressure was high and my health started to fail. …

We All Should Begin to Worry! 
The annual cost of a private room in a nursing home has cracked the six-figure mark, according to Genworth Financial. The national annual median cost …

Getting Used to Retirement Now... 
Hi I have loved reading all of your stories. Here's mine. I'm Nancy in Nevada, getting used to retirement now. I left my job 6 months ago and was …

Cheaper Than Therapy 
I recently enrolled in a six week memoir writing workshop at one of my local library branches. Every week we have a writing assignment which is strictly …

Just Like I Was (not living any more) 
I was in the same boat as "I'm not living anymore", only add to the fact that my husband had a late life affair (with an older woman!) and just walked …

This is your life.......... 
My life did not go as I planned, some very sad times, some very happy times, but I keep plugging along. I'm still working PT at 76, very grateful …

Some regrets, no regrets 
I retired at 66, four years ago. I had always worked so this was and is new to me. I have some money, but when there are the insurances and taxes and …

4 + Years Retired Now and Loving Every Day! 
It was just over 4 years ago that I retired from a place I had worked at since coming home from the Army in 1974. I was so ready and so glad I left at …

I Retired 26 years ago and have no regrets. 
My first wife died in 1989. I remarried three years later and retired. Wife & I then spent the next 25 years spending 6 months of each year living in …

Are you disallusioned with life? 
I have been on a path of trying to understand people. I don't know if I've ever felt so invisible or not needed. I have tried for the last few years …

Retired today: very disorienting 
Today was my final day at work. I am 55 and worked at hard accounting jobs since I was 22. I never found the perfect job, although I tried alot of different …

Click here to write your own.

Retired Big Mistake 
I was on sick leave for breast cancer for a year & a half. I had the opportunity to do a gradual return to my job. I worked in a University bookstore …

Not real happy after 2.5 years 
I've been retired since March of 2016. After 2 and a half years, I'm still looking for something to be happy about. Money is not an issue. I'm an …

Slowly but surely  
It's been three months into retirement now. I will be 63 in November. Slowly things are coming together. I decided to go outside of my zone and started …

New Things: Rheumatoid arthritis 
Hi, my name is Bonita and I was diagnosed with RA, hurting pretty bad daily. Working part time a a local grocery chain. I began to lose mobility in …

They say she/he should have reached out 
Hello, Last year my house was flooded; I became very depressed. I live alone, I am 77 years old with a mind and energy of a 50 year old. I have …

I May Re-Tire and Re-Calibrate But I May Never Retire 
Why would you ever want to retire? You're that tired? I don't blame you, though. I just turned 56 this September and I felt I've been like Atlas carrying …

It's been 3 months in 
I have been retired 3 months now. It has it's ups and downs. My retirement anxiety is not as bad as it had been but I am still searching for a sense of …

Retired and hating it!  
Retired in June and thought I could take to it. How naive can you get! Focus and purpose gets turned upside down because the routine has gone and the …

Retirement Acrostic 
R etire E xcited T o I nvestigate R eally E xceptional M oments E specially N ow T imes

Heading in to year six of retirement and managing the challenges... 
When I retired after 34 years at the same company it was mostly to be a companion for and care for my Mother. We have shared a big house on 7 acres for …

Ambivalence reigns supreme 
Let's start by my "retiring" at 57. At that point I loved my freedom from driving in to a job I never intended to have when I left home for college. …

Book Review: Shifting Gears to Your Life and Work After Retirement: Second Edition 
This is the review I wrote on Amazon for Shifting Gears to Your Life and Work After Retirement. The authors of this book sent me a review …

A Treasure-Trove Website to be Mined: AARP 
Sure, most of us are familiar with the more popular, standard offerings of the AARP Web site (https://www.aarp.org), such as auto and health insurance …

How To Stop Worrying 
In his survey of 1200 elders for his Legacy Project, Cornell researcher, Karl Pillermer, was surprised to find that most elderly regretted “worrying” the …

A quick wake-up call for a COPD Retiree  
For the Summer, I am at the family cabin (about 50 miles S. of the border with Canada), in N. MN - have COPD, woke coughing with the smell of smoke. …

Still having bad dreams about work! 
I am still having bad dreams about work that leave me feeling awful in the morning and not wanting to get out of bed. I have a few friends from my …

Retirement: Time to do what you want 
I first found this blog month ago and it was so much help to me. Your anxiety is natural. My situation was like yours. My advice is to enjoy by …

Recently Retired CPA 
I am a recent retiree ( 62 1/2 ) after working at a large regional CPA firm in NYC which was a highly stressful place ( tax season and off tax season). …

Retired: Your new job is Social Director for you. 
Something I’m slowly finding out is that we retired folks must go out, seek and find things that will make us happier and feel more fulfilled. We can’t …

Decisions, decisions 
I worked in New York City for many years before retiring. Had a terrific administrative assistant position that exposed me to all of the amazing things …

The Book "I'm Dead, Now What?" 
After much thought about what would happen after I passed, I decided to buy this book at Amazon. I live alone (widowed) and have no children. I thought …

Delayed Reaction 
As a writer leaving a full-time position (booted out the door with a group from my newly merged company) I just picked right up as a freelancer. I …

2 months retired and still sleep 12 hours 
I was so happy to find this website. I googled because I thought something was wrong with me. I feel guilty because I don't hop out of bed with the sun. …

Retiring Soon 
As I won't be retiring for another 2 years, I'm already feeling anxiety. Being a teacher, I have the summer off. After about a week of being home, …

Who Would Have EVER Thought...? 
A few years ago, I would have thought it impossible. In fact, I would not have even discussed it. After all, I was resting on my laurels. I had already …

Click here to write your own.

Retirement not going well 
I retired in January of this year after working 47 years in the medical field. I spent 25 years working long hard hours as an xray tech and then went …

A Book That Will Leave A Lasting Impression: The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom  
I just finished reading a book, "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" by Mitch Albom and I am still feeling the effect it had on me. Like Dr. …

Am I getting to that age? 
This was too cute not to share. Am I getting to that age? I found this timely, because today I was in a store that sells sunglasses, and only sunglasses. …

Reirement Decision was not mine... 
I was a caregiver here in S.E Alaska. I was helping someone move things from the upstairs apt. Top landing collapsed and I followed, down past the broken …

Parachute Club 
Yesterday one of my kids e-mailed me AGAIN, asking why I didn't do something useful with my time. "Like sitting around the pool and drinking wine is …

Double Haiku 
Instead of playing with the tv dial, I have become addicted to playing with words, Haiku style. Here is a double one. Routine dulls the mind. Same …

Getting Better 
I was a physician for 42 years, and at age 65, facing the possibility of signing another lease for three years made me stop and think about whether looking …

Summer fun with Grandchildren 
Blessings are the things in life that we are surrounded by, that money can't buy, that we often take for granted and rarely say thank you for. I'm 71 …

It's true! Cost $00. Value/Reward $$ priceless! 
Yep, for me it's "sharing your time". Volunteering has been a rewarding part of my life after I asked myself >> Hey Self, "besides having fun, what …

Possible Solutions to Retirement Regrets 
We often find that, when we retire, we miss the daily interaction with the people we used to work with, not to mention the fulfilling sense of responsibility …

Retirement regrets 
It's been 2 years since I have retired and all I do is talk about my old job . I keep saying I should have stayed, why did I leave. My husband has cancer …

Retired and Looking from the Backyard! 
As I entered my 29th year of retirement, and after having recently become a widower, I spent the first two weeks of June with my son Greg and his family …

Retired early 
For some reason, I had the idea that retirement age is 65, so I just assumed that is when I would retire. Over the years, my wife and I have lived …

REFIRE - DON'T RETIRE 
REFIRE - don't Retire. I was at a breakfast meeting this morning and the speaker said "We should all refire, not retire". That seems to partner my …

Retired and Overwhelmed 
I retired in Sept. 2016 at the age of 66. I always worked since I was 17 years old. Let me tell you a short (I promise) background story of my life. …

Between states  
I’m 65 and retired 3 years ago from teaching special needs students after 23 years. I am comfortable financially. My fiancé died unexpectedly 5 years …

Too Soon To Tell... Never Been Happier! 
I just lost my job, a job I loved. If I would admit it, I was just getting to old to keep up. I am 64 was going to work a few more years. I say "Too …

Retirement 101 and Beyond 
I retired at the end of April 2017 at the age of 66. Although I was asked to stay on, the culture of the organisation had changed and I saw that the new …

Me and my retirement 
I am not feeling sorry for myself, but I had to retire from my beloved job of teaching children with multiple disabilities because I had two major epileptic …

Retired and Looking Out My Window! 
Would you share what YOU see when looking out your home window? Hey -- I sit and "work" on Retirement-Online in a brown leather loveseat recliner …

Surprise 
I had to wait until I was 85 to ride in an ambulance 2 times courtesy of 911 calls. Cause? Tongue swelling causing closing of wind pipe, that caused heart …

The Tortoise and Hare 
I can not take credit for writing this, but I think it is applicable to what this web site is all about. A Boeing 777 wide body jetliner was lumbering …

The Humorous Side of Growing Older 
As I have grown older, there are three things that I have learned so far: 1) I am not going to worry about growing older. We all do dumb stuff, we …

Stolen Mothers day---> Wives Day 
This has nothing to do with retirement but I just need to get it off my chest. I just read an article by a woman journalist going on and on about how …

Finally Happy in Retirement 
Since retiring in 2015, I have been a very unhappy man. Not knowing what to do, then finding things to do, and then not enjoying whatever I did...until …

Click here to write your own.

Educator Retirement: Indecision Indecision 
I have stressed myself to the max with the decision to retire or not after thirty four years as an educator. I have seen more than I can stand of horrible …

Trying to get by 
I am retired 14 years (retired early, so I could relax-ha). I do some volunteering, moved to another state after my wife died in 2012. I've traveled, …

Scared of retirement decision 
I turn 55 in June and for retirement, and I must give 2 months notice... Which means in 10 days time. Due to exchange rate situation (which is very …

Friendship and Food 
I confronted a friend about her negativity and expressed my need for a "break" as my friend Sue struggles with her life. I seek ways to enrich mine, …

HELP! Problem with Husband at Home 
My husband retired in 1993 working at a corporation for 37 years. The night he retired, (while my parents were visiting us) my dad became ill and we were …

Heads Up. Retirement is a mindset. 
Figure what you want to get accomplished. You have time to do it. Relax and do it. End of story. Works for me. THANK you.

HOW DID I GET THERE??!! 
One of the things I have most enjoyed since retiring, is nature photography. Occasionally, I am fortunate enough to capture animals in very unusual and …

Retired Too Early 
I taught children with multiple disabilities in an urban school district. I loved my job. Since I was a child, I had spells where I just blanked out, …

Just wasn’t ready for retirement 
I retired two months ago at age 55 after 32 years with the same company. I was nervous about retiring, but was very stressed in my job, and so I retired. …

Life is good. Age is MOSTLY a state of mind 
Enjoy being retired. Think of all you gave up, during your working life. Some birthdays missed. Some Christmases and new years worked. Some trips, cut …

Spring time is a time for planting new seeds. 
Spring is a time of rebirth in all that we do. We weed out the bad, cultivate our environment, and plant seeds for new growth. We have our annuals all …

Lost 
Love of my life left me. My plans were to spend retirement traveling with her. Now I just don't care what I do or care if I retire at least work …

Stay Busy 
Retirement is supposed to a good thing, but it can be awkward. I knew to stay busy. There is always something that means a lot to you (suitable for a group …

Coping with retirement 
I retired 1 year ahead of mandatory age. Prior to retirement, i had my share of concerns about how to occupy my time after having worked 35 years without …

Learning by MOOCs in your retirement 
I am 64 years old. I have not been lucky during my studies because i finished my secondary school in 1975 and not had access to university due to lack …

6th Year Retirement  
I have found the key to happiness in retirement rests with your ability to find things to do that have meaning in your life. I plan my day with activities …

Reasonably priced homes in Retirement Communities - NC or elsewhere  
We love the Over 55, Active Adult Community lifestyle having lived in one during the winter months in Florida. Having family in NC (south of Raleigh) …

Our New Age: Seniors Online! 
Seniors online! Yes, we have embraced digital technology, the internet and all its benefits. Otherwise, we would not be reading this website for baby boomers. …

Was It All About the DENIM? 
Over Sixty, and wearing denim. We still look good in jeans. Or we think we do. In 2017, denim jeans are part of practically everyone’s apparel. For the …

Perils of Men in Retirement 
Your men are going to retire one day, Very old joke—is this your hunch? You married him for better or worse, not lunch! His first day at home, what’s …

NOSTALGIA…… 
Another little baby boomer was born. Maybe our mothers smoked or drank during their pregnancies. Moreover, our mothers took aspirin or Bex, ate fish …

Music of our Retirement! 
What is the music of your retirement? Music is good for us all. The love of music is as innate as listening to our mother’s heartbeat and breathing …

Baby Boomer Women: The Journey! 
Well, we have turned sixty years of age. Another milestone, what does lie ahead on this journey we call aging? Is this the …

Baby Boomer Bellies! 
Ah, winter comfort foods. Now, it is pot bellies as a human endeavour. How can the over-sixty greys reduce and tone their bulgy bits? …

Are You Happy, Now You're Widowed and Old?  
This is a refrain from an old song. Well, would you say you are happy, now you are widowed and old? What are some positives of this status, …

Click here to write your own.

Learned about Retirement from my Mother and her Sister 
Looking for a giggle? I learned about retirement from my mother, Jane and her sister Ellen. They learned about it from their mother, my grandmother. …

Retired and Rambling On About Retired Life 
Every experience is Unique I have been retired for 3 yrs now at 65 yrs old. I'm lucky, I guess, to have retired at the same time as my "girlfriend" …

Law Enforcement Retirement: No second guessing 
I retired from a major law enforcement agency at the age of 47. I was an up and coming star and was high on the rank structure after 25 years. I left …

Dementia: Tough Doesn't Begin To Describe It  
Reverse Mortgage Story My wife and I moved in with my mother-in-law in May of 2016, and it has derailed my own retirement and consumed my wife completely. …

Surprisingly loving it.... retirement! 
I retired 16 months ago at age 56 after working for 30 years in Mental Health/Hospitals. The one thing I thought I'd miss was the structure/routine …

Five years in and still going strong 
It's hard to believe that it's been 5 years since I pulled the plug. In that time, I've become a snowbird, alternating between Texas and Arizona. …

Ho’zho: Balance and Beauty 
I retired 2 years ago, and decided that retirement is an evolutionary process that occurs after the main goal of getting retired is met. Towards the end …

Dr. Gundry's Diet Revolution book 
Click to view on Amazon! A couple of weeks ago my wife bought a book by Dr. Gundry called Dr. Gundry's Diet Revolution. She started reading …

What is your favorite part of retirement?  
What is your favorite part of retirement? Mine is getting a good night's sleep every night and sleeping as late as I want to. When I was working, …

Forced Out? 
I am going to be 64 in a few months and the company that I have worked for 20 years went through a major change and I am one of a handful of management …

Retired and Losing a pet 
Hello! My name is Donna. I'm 64 years old (65 in May). My husband and I are having a VERY difficult week. A beloved pet (her name is Susie, 16 year …

I'm at the end of his retired rope! 
Husband's company went bankrupt so he got early retirement at the age of 64 while I was dreading it at 66! He is lost and looks at me like his playmate. …

Retired Men: The real nature of retirement 
Retirement from my perspective. My best friend is me. Don't look beyond that. Your kids love you but they don't want to understand you... they …

Fiona IS my Best Friend 
I never realized that I did not know how to love and how to put others ahead of myself. I'm always reading that mothers don't think of themselves …

Retirement: Value of My Time (Freedom) 
I am 69 and retired for a year from a long career. Over the past year, I notice that I am paying more attention to the value of my time and how I spend …

Retirement Failure 
We have one daughter, 24 years old, and we are both 67. We have moved around a lot as my husband was in the Navy and then his work led us to live in …

Freedom fought for, Freedom found, Freedom threatened? 
After half my life, 32 years, working in the same agency, I retired last June when the future there was looking gray, the same as far as the heart and …

Specs for the job: Retirement 
Treat retirement as another job. To be happy in this position, define your duties, your compensations, and working conditions. After some time, do …

Don't Let Your Doctors Waste Medicare Dollars 
When it comes to the subject of Medicare, we have all heard or read about waste in the Medicare system. I think I have now experienced this subject on …

My Retirement Situation 
I graduated from High School after the first semester of my senior year to go work for Southwestern Bell in St. Louis. I had just turned 17 at the time. …

Takes awhile to find a new normal 
After retiring in March 2016 due to my husband’s job relocation, I found myself in an odd place too. Yes I was happy to be out of a stressful job but not …

Retirement best years of my life 
I was an Rn in an acute care hospital for over 25 years. Stressful. Patients were usually great people and I loved patient care but coworkers and supervisors …

How do I talk to my wife about my feelings? 
How to talk to my wife about how I feel. For so many years I was always able to go to work (herself too) and so I talked to my peeps at work about …

Retired: Who am I? 
I have been retired now for almost 2 years now. I worked in the construction business with my dad for over 40 years. We had many ups and downs over the …

Retirement: A Big Kid 
I’ve been retired now for a little over a year in a half. The best thing I can say about my job was that I didn’t mind it much, and leaving after 32 years …

Click here to write your own.

Retirement: Make New Routines 
I retired in May 2017 after 26 years in the same job. It was a huge transition for me and it took a couple of months to adjust. You have to make new …

Recently Retired: Two years to be able to say I love being retired! 
I’ve been retired for two years after working at a job I loved for 20 years. I worked in a grocery store and used to wait on as many as 1500 people in …

Job Regrets? Consider the Negatives 
I lost my job at age 52 after working 18 years at an R&D company. They moved out of my State and although I was offered a job, I didn't take it. It is …

Thanksgiving 
It is interesting the memories that flow as holidays approach. I think that we all have thoughts about specific holidays and the traditions and foods …

Something Crazy: Could not let that dream slip away 
When my job in NYC started to wind down, I signed up for photography workshops that I would attend two or three nights a week. I love cameras and lenses …

Trusting the "Season" of Adjustment 
I've been working in a dental office for 30 years and prior to that, I was a hair stylist. This past June, I had to have foot surgery but was planning …

Recently Retired  
I retired a couple months ago after working with the same company almost 38 years. The job was very stressful and a lot of changes & the expectation …

Remarkable Conversations About the "R" Word - Part 1! 
How do you start a conversation about the 4th most difficult topic? Do you call it Retirement or Reinvention or 3rd Age or 2nd Act or Encore Years …

Remarkable Conversations About the "R" Word - Part 2! 
CONGRATS! You have agreed upon the guidelines for communicating with your spouse, significant other, or your coach. The next part is... what are the …

Why is there such a fuss about senior entrepreneurs? 
If you have reached 60 statistics indicate you will reach close to 90. With nearly 30 years to go you should not be considered a senior entrepreneur and …

Write with Power 
My 2nd FaceBook page (a website, dummy!) is a FORUM I created for OLD STAGEHANDS (I started in 1966); I've had a lot of fun writing nostalgic pieces of …

Lonely... I'm Not Living. 
It's 5am feeling lonely, lost questioning my life. I've been reading everyone's response to loneliness and I can truly relate and I am frightened. …

Failed 
I quit my job in May, sold our home, and moved to SC to be with family. Terrible financial decision! In three to five years, I would have been all …

Lil, positive aging 
Lil is the grandmother of my niece and nephews… we’ve known her for 40+ years now. Lil and her husband, Chet, moved from Michigan to Las Vegas when he …

Does Anyone Know of Legitimate Online Writing Job Websites? 
I would like to earn some extra money writing articles or other content. I have spent hours and days looking for legitimate websites that I can trust. …

Thoughts to Retirees who Move to be near Kids 
Life is ever evolving/changing and with that change, roles change, we all get older even our children and grandchildren. One of the things IMO that …

Women and Retirement 
Initially, retirement planning requires financial planning. Shall any woman, married, or single, have sufficient funds for your ‘golden oldies’ years? …

Gettin' Lucky! 
I fell HARD, on my face, Friday night! I was fortunate not to break my lens, but bent my frames, and my 12-year-old ONLY pair of spec's, was my first …

A Partial Retirement 
I am going to share my story- I belong to this group but I am partially retired. I am a CPA and enrolled agent and am 57 years old. I became a mom …

What Happened? 
It took a couple of years for the anxiety and depression to set in and I can honestly say I have never really experienced much depression in my life - …

WHY? Deadliest Shooting in U.S. History -- Is this a Retirement issue, or not? 
How can a 64-year old man, having lived a long life but with lots more possibilities... how can he randomly, with totally no regard, take all these lives …

Eight years  
Oct. 1st 2017, eight years have come and gone, eight years of retirement. I was one of those who were downsized, laid off, let go, from the down turn …

The Bitter sweet ReNewal 
I joined this forum a year ago in distress. The system locked me out as I live in Kenya. I opted to retire at the age of 51 due to workplace bullying. …

Retirement Disease! 
The day I retired last year I got a whopper of a flu bug. It hung on all during the first year of my retirement. I was also nursing a knee injury. I ran …

Men's Mental Health... Does it exist for Men Over Sixty? 
Men’s mental health—does it really exist for baby boomer men? Are men so bound by their own concept of masculinity and gender stereotyping? Men can …

Click here to write your own.

Lost 
I retired at FRA after working in NYC for twenty-five years; built a new house in SC to be near my son and grandkids. After almost two years I am …

Escape for the Winter (U.K. Readers) 
Looks like a great opportunity for some retirees! Are you dreaming of escaping the dreaded British Winter? With the awful Summer we’ve had so far, …

Freedom and choices in retirement 
Originally living in the country and working as a freelance writer and pet-sitter, I'm now in a nursing home (at just 70). At first, I couldn't adjust …

My Retirement Story by Don Hahn 
Hi Everyone, My name is Don Hahn. I am brand new here so I thought this might be a good place to start. My last day of work was August 11, 2017. I was …

Retirement Story in Northville, Michigan USA 
Hello Retirees, I retired on 1/1/17. I worked 40.5 years with and tier one supplier that manufacturers automotive parts. I spent the first fifteen …

No More Laughs 
We've been married 35 years and owned a couple businesses together. I always thought I was the "lazy" one as after a long day's work I liked nothing …

Trying to keep on keeping on! 
I am 76 years old and moved from New York to Pennsylvania a year and a half ago and gave up driving about 4 years ago. Never thought I was moving but …

Retired. Now what? 
I retired 3 yrs ago. I applied to volunteer at local hospital and got my ID and training so I could start when I felt I was ready. I do this two days …

Long term relationships 
Was married for 10 yrs, lived with him for 8 yrs...he was selfish, never spent time with me or the three kids. We divorced Raised kids alone and no …

Retirement... another journey, another chapter! 
As a Chemical Engineer, I began working in 1969, afterwards I developed my career professionally at countless labs, ultimately at the Mexican Food and …

To Scooter or Not to Scooter? 
So, as a senior citizen, you have finally hung up your car keys, for whatever reason. That is part of our aging journey, one day no longer being able to …

The Heartbreak of Living in a Capitalist Society 
I have finally stopped crying so that I can write this posting. I am still angry and sad so maybe writing about my situation will give me closure. …

Meaninglessness Golden Years 
I've been retired for several years now. Live on a small pension and my social security benefit. Not enough money to travel, though I'd like to see the …

Being alone can be miserable 
Living alone. Hmmmm. I don't like it. The days are long and I am usually out of things to do by 2 p.m. I have two dogs I walk every day. I work …

Retirement Travel (4 month travel plan) 
It is good evening here! I am in India, relaxing in a resort by a famous river in southern India, with my wife. We left the US on July 1st on a four month …

Get Up and Keep Moving 
All I can do is try to laugh at it all, life that is. When I was forced into medical, and stress related retirement 10 years ago, a social worker from …

Work was a previous life 
I retired at 56 after putting in 37 years, took my pension and never looked back. After getting up for years at 5am and getting to bed by 10pm, I quickly …

Retirement Finally Caught Up With Me 
I was in the regular army, then a fire engineer, policeman, long distance lorry driver, and my last job was in media security, and I loved everyone of …

Tired and sleeping many hours a day. 
I just retired about 2 weeks ago. I have been walking about 2 miles a day/5 days a week for several months. But, I am sleeping for about 2 hours in the …

What a year...yikes! 
Retired for 3 years and this has been the toughest... My biological father whom I met 11 years ago passed away before Christmas, we decided to celebrate …

Moving 
I recently moved from Indiana to Las Vegas about 3 months ago to be with my son and grandbaby. I was born and raised in IN and I'm so very homesick and …

Happy Retirement Plans  
I am a 74 year old who belongs to that demographic the federal government calls elder orphans, seniors aging alone with absolutely no family. I spent …

4 days post retirement - thoughts... 
I luckily found this community at a time when I needed to proclaim my intentions and hopefully get support for my decision. Retiring "early" (57) is …

Busy, Busy, Busy 
I took the day off yesterday. I worked the last two weeks trying to rewrite my play (done). The other writing was getting the story of early Buffalo …

Retirement and the weather 
I love ❤️ cold, rainy, snowy days, basically inclement weather! Why? As a golf professional I worked on all those nice sunny warm days taking care of the …

Click here to write your own.

Retirement: Life Phases Out, Sense of Loss 
My sense about life as we age is that the earlier "modes" of life are mostly all centered around work, career, a home and children to raise. As all of …

Stay Away From Drugs for Depression 
There is a long history of depression in my family and I have struggled with it for so many years that I can't remember how old I was when it all began. …

Oh Wayne - Once a service worker always 
With a full knee replaced, botched shoulder surgeries (3), some stomach removed, head trauma, two hearing aids (deaf without), and still trying to seek …

Retirement is a time to realize that we are in the final quarter of our lives 
Retirement is a time to realize that we older folks are in the final quarter of our lives. Please, don't waste it feeling sorry for yourself. I help …

Making Retirement Losses Tolerable 
I retired on May 30, 2014. I retired early because of severe burnout on the job which caused a number of health-related issues. I had planned to spend …

Retired: Tired and Sad all the Time 
I've been retired almost 4 years now and have been struggling with depression ever since. I was not expecting to feel this way in retirement as I've always …

Depressed 
I seem to be going thru this right now. I retired over a year ago, and no, I don't miss my job of 32 years at all. I was a Custodial Supervisor at a local …

Tips for Enjoying Retirement 
Tips for enjoying our retirement should focus on making the most of every day. Always try to plan a day ahead, so you can note any appointments, or …

Retired At 61 after over 41 Years - Not what I expected! 
I have been in the car business my whole life; early on in the retail side with my dad and the last 41 years working for Auto Mfrs. I'm an "A" type person …

Retirement Rules 
No matter who reads what I write, I am getting it out. A lifetime of experiences has brought me to this area where nothing matters anymore. All the lessons …

Lost in Retirement La La Land! 
A quick flip through your book, A Guide to ReInventing Retired Life, and it looks very insightful and I believe that you've hit the nail on the head! …

Newly Retired, exhilarated but no focus 
Recently retired from a health professional position after 28 years, most good but some not so good which is why I retired at age of 68. While I am …

Disability: It can happen in an instant! 
My husband and I actually did not prepare for the time when we would be unable to work a regular job. My husband Don had a stroke at a rather young …

Optimism is a gift 
I got hurt a while ago writing short stories, one story was used or as I was written back as co-incidence a TV special was produced with my idea, I got …

Retired, Want to work, but feel it would be difficult to find a job? 
I have a feeling there are people in this forum who would like to earn extra money in retirement but are discouraged from even looking for a job. I agree …

Energy industry casualty  
I was near the end of a great career in the energy industry. Had 32+ years of exciting projects working for a great company with great people. The industry …

Retired Life, Think Frugally!  
My Hub and I retired early(ish). He at 63 and me at age 58 due to a lay off and couldn't find work. He is thrilled and I am still adjusting because it …

Older Americans Month - May 2020 
In May, our nation celebrates Older Americans Month. The Older Americans Act serves over 11 million people each year. As many seniors continue to …

Retiring early to a happy, stress-free and yes, FRUGAL lifestyle! 
I am retiring from a job that I have never liked or felt comfortable with! Bad boss, poor working conditions, stress and nothing in common w/co-workers. …

Pack Rat Alert!  
Been retired a year and few months and decided I simply had to address the need to simplify life. I mean who needs 3 very large closets full of career …

Lost my Identity 
I had many jobs before I worked for a major food corporation in food products Research and Development for 18 years. It was incredibly interesting …

Isn't what it's supposed to be - UGH 
My story was a horrible end to 2016. I'm now 65 and he is 67. First my hubby had to have open heart surgery the beginning of January. We got through …

Wendy's Big Shift Adventure 
I attended The Big Shift Experience, hosted by Bill Baren, in San Jose CA, March 2017. it was good... approximately 600ish people attend and I am glad …

Retirement: Sleeping too Much! 
t's now been a month since I retired from a very stressful job in the education sector, I am 64. I have worked since I was 15 and still feel that I …

Question about 'snowbird retirement' in another country.  
I have a question about the feasibility of spending three months each year in a warm, low-cost country (e.g. Mexico, Central America, or Thailand). …

Click here to write your own.

I hate retirement, also. 
I had my own business, which I wanted one of my adult children to take over on a part time basis. It was the kind of business that would have allowed …

Nothing worse than retirement! 
I worked in MI Dept of Corrections for about 28 years, following my Dad, uncles, cousins, etc. I was a very secure job and I enjoyed it. As everyone …

Freddy the Fireman seeks advice... 
So... i find myself on the verge of retirement. I work a physically demanding job, and have the opportunity to retire in 3 months, or in 3 years. …

Choosing Tranquility to Enjoy Your Retirement Life 
Several elderly men, all residents of a retirement home nearby, were in the park sitting around a Chessboard. No one seemed interested in playing. To break …

The Parental Squeeze 
After retirement, I went back to work part-time for a few years. But then, my parents' health demanded my attention. So I am now part of the squeeze …

It Was Not Supposed to Be Like This! 
The day had finally arrived!! All the good-byes had been said, and there was nothing much left to pack, so I took one last walk through the building, …

Bad Grandma and the Turtle 
I had been neglecting my young Florida grandson. In order to rectify this "bad Grandma" error, I decided to write a story for him. Here goes. When I …

Does Gender Make a Difference? 
I have read many of the accounts expressing both positive and negative aspects of retirement. I am interested to know if you think females have fewer …

Working part time 
Money is no issue but money is always an issue. I retired / downsized almost eight years ago. For the first couple years I drew unemployment and slid …

With Retirement Comes "Frugality"  
Learning to be frugal isn't easy....it takes one step at a time. Being frugal does not equal being cheap. For example, I love eating out but soon …

We've hit the brick wall 
I am the wife of a retiree. We are both fairly young. I am 57 and he is 61 almost 62. He retired last year in March (worked same job for 40 years) and …

On a merry-go-round and can't get off 
I retired 5 years ago (64 years old) due to a health concern and am having the most difficult time dealing with this transition. I worked for G.E. …

I Will Leave This World Knowing My Adopted Daughter Is Secure 
At the age of 44, I had an 11 year old daughter that begged for a sister. Well, by that time, my baby factory had become a museum :-). I could no longer …

Plan B (the rest of the story) 
It's been 2years since I was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. We decided to sell the beautiful cottage where we spent many summers with our sons and …

Still searching 
It has been 18 months since my retirement. I spent 37 years as a real estate broker, working with new people almost every day. Time finally caught …

Being Alone Can be a Good Experience 
I have been reading stories on this website for a few months and I have noticed a common factor among many retirees. Retirement, whether voluntary …

Wow what a transition! 
I never did figure out what I was going to do with my life, one day my Dad walked into the Army recruiter and figured it out for me (at least he thought). …

Gone but Not Really Forgotten 
This was a comment written in response to Year Since Retirement... but so well written and thought out I had to share it BIGGER! Wendy Dear Alan, …

MIRROR MIRROR ON THE WALL 
I sure hope i'm not the only one that can relate to this post. I was reading through some of Wendy's super-wise advice and I ran across these words: …

Getting started on my dreams 
I retired from teaching last school year after 35 years. Teaching just is not what it used to be! I miss the children, and some of the staff, but I am …

Retirement: What keeps me up at night? 
I'm Bill O and I am 88 years old/young. I live with my daughter and two mid twenty year olds and her second husband. They both lost their spouse to MS …

Newly retired, hits and misses 
I was lucky to be able to retire with almost 40 years of work and only 55 y/o. The problem is that when I finally retired, my husband's job relocated to …

All of life's doors are not closed after Retirement.  
Look at it as time to tap into your creative side... A few months after my retirement, I became depressed. What did I do? I found myself a therapist …

Widowed: Now What? 
So often I get your bulk emails in my in box. I never felt motivated to reply, frankly I simply did not pay much mind to those emails. You asked how …

Year Since Retirement  
Retired after 4 decades in the school business with the last dozen being a superintendent. Living on the family ranch but feel like I have lost my identity. …

Click here to write your own.

Giving myself a kick in the a.. 
I retired when I was 62 (3 years ago). My husband is same age and retiring next month. We are making big life changes by moving from the rainy west coast …

Retirement Boredom 
I had planned all of my working life to enjoy retirement. Working provided no rewarding experiences for me, it provided a roof over my head. I saw massive …

Retired at 61 because of health. after 2 years I continue to go down hill. 
I drove cross country truck for 38 years. At 61 I had to go on insulin so by law I could no longer drive. I have 80 acres and many things to do. From …

Retirees: Caretaker Opportunities for a new lifestyle! 
Hey Retiree! Do you know that many larger homes, ranches, parks, farms etc. hire caretakers for their property? They do! Do you know that many actually …

Retired, Only son and his family 4000 miles away! 
I am researching this topic to help with my dilemma and it is comforting to know that I am not alone. Although, my situation seems to be a bit more extreme. …

Retirement Boredom: One Tiny Thing 
I’m planning on stopping teaching this spring after over 25 years – I will be almost 65. The reasons are mixed and complicated – physical health and burn-out …

Retiring at 55 
Some would say retiring at 55 is early, but I had worked for 35 years for the FEDS, and ended up an an It support tech with alot of fun and alot of stress. …

RETIREMENT 
I actually retired 3 years ago; I had a successful dog sitting business. It was not really full time. What has complicated my retirement is that …

3 1/2 years later 
Hi this is Linda -- I lived in Pa. and moved to Ca. Living in Pa all my life this has been a real challenge for me. I moved here to Long Beach in April …

Free Meditation App 
I've been listening to a free Meditation app on my phone, called INSIGHT TIMER. You can also listen online here: https://insighttimer.com/meditation-app …

Forced Retirement 
One year ago I was a CEO of a non for profit mental health organisation. I enjoyed my work and had been there for 8 years. The board of directors pushed …

The latest medicare/Social Security idiocy 
I retired July 1st of this year at the age of 70. I was notified that my Medicare Part B premium was going from $121.80 to $134.00 which is $12.20 …

Update on retirement at age 56 and now at age 78 
I was able to cash in 2 life insurances because all my kids are financially secure and doubled my money. I bought 4 homes at a modest price, increased …

Sold my Business at 56 
I retired at 56 after having sold my business; sort of a "forced" situation. This was right before the financial crisis of 2008, so the timing turned out …

Enjoy Your Holidays -- with No Stress. Is that possible? 
While the holidays have the power to bring lots of joyful times in your life, AND lots of lost memories, they can bring on a great deal of stress. The …

Thanksgiving: Are we missing out in Australia? 
Are we missing out in Australia? Whether or not we are retired, at about this time of year, I'm beginning to feel that those of us who do not live in America …

Share Thanksgiving with Those Not So Lucky... 
In many of our houses, we celebrate Thanksgiving, which conjures up all sorts of visions, smells, and laughter it centers on family, friends, football, …

Top Ten Thanksgiving Movies 
Hey - Thanksgiving is only a week away! Why not find a good movie to watch or share with others? “Certain things leave you in your life and certain …

Laid off @ 57 
Hi all, I worked in television for 30 years. I was recently laid off and I fell into a fairly bad depression. I wasn't planning on retirement for at …

A, B, C's for Seniors... The New Aging Alphabet! 
THE ALPHABET A is for apple, and B is for boat, That used to be right, but now it won't float! Age before beauty is what we once said, But let's …

Work Defined Me 
I was let go from my facility a year ago at 58 in a Restructuring (the new term for layoffs). I was a department director and enjoyed my work and co-workers. …

Christian Death and Prayer 
Recently, we attended a Catholic funeral service for a woman who died in her sleep... the priest said something like: "Most of you think its normal …

Online Business with Income? Really? 
EMAIL QUESTION: Tell me Wendy, can a person really find a part time or full time online business which generates a income ? That is a business in which …

Retired and Bored? Increasing Your Creativity for Finding Interests will Help! 
If you are retired and bored, like so many other retirees, consider Increasing your creativity. WHY? Because it will help you find new interests for your …

How to Spark Your Creativity 
Let me SHOW YOU How to Spark Your Creativity! What? You have no creativity? Yes, you do. Every act you do is created by your mind... even simply repetitive …

Click here to write your own.

Rikk's Halloween Memories 
I am writing this post on Sunday, October 30th.....one day BEFORE one of my favorite days HALLOWEEEEN! Today is the day that ALL the grandchildren trick …

Why do I constantly get asked...have you found a job yet??? 
I can't seem to find the answer as to why friends and former co-workers keep asking me if I found work yet? Why does a retiree have to work? …

Senior Center Day Trips... FUN! 
This week, our family lost MaryAnn, the grandmother of my nephews wife. She had been with us many times, at the kids wedding in Las Vegas, birthday parties, …

Stuck in the Past? 
Dear Retiree: Are You Stuck in the Past? Let's Turn Your Life Around Today! Everybody experiences rough patches in life, and this is especially true …

Retirement Sucks 
Retirement so far sucks big time. Most likely because it wasn't my choice. (laid of from BELL) So I am desperate to find a new job and taking antidepressants …

YOU can Change the World 
ME? Change the WORLD? Surely You Jest? Seriously, you can change the world right around you... every little bit counts! Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Be …

Is retirement enhanced by the place in which we have chosen to live? 
Hello everyone. A little while ago, I posted a few comments and questions on how where we chose to live might affect our ability to blossom and enjoy …

Retiring from One Phase of Life to Another 
My name is Gladys and I retired six years ago with so much excitement I shouted it out to the world. I love not being on a schedule but like many others …

Retired Early and Miserable 
I took a voluntary redundancy from the public service at age 50, after being there nearly 26 years. The workplace had become toxic and my manager was not …

Unwanted Retirement Advice 
Hi, I too am suffering from a very difficult adjustment, or buyer's remorse, as another blogger had called it. I retired primarily b/c of some chronic …

Deciding whether to retire?? 
I'm currently out on disability for a broken foot. I am also in need of back surgery. I'm 64. Financially I need to work but, emotionally and physically …

Recently retired, now have buyers remorse 
Hello my name is Mark. I recently retired from the public school system here at age 60 with 22 years of service. I had originally had intended to stay …

RULES FOR AN EXCELLENT RETIREMENT 
1. It's time to use the money you saved up. Use it and enjoy it. Don't just keep it for those who may have no notion of the sacrifices you made to get …

I Feel Like God Is Laughing at Me 
Like so many other people, I was laid off from my job because of a company buy out. I, too, did not plan on retiring until I reached full retirement age …

Helping Hand 
My wife passed away just over 4 years ago. I moved to another state and met a nice lady there. We got engaged, but not getting married or moving in. …

Retired for One Year 
I retired a year ago (I'm now 57) due to ill health. I haven't yet gotten to that zen retirement state that everyone seems to talk about. This is hard! …

Life after a lay off 
My story is like many people my age. I was let go when the company I worked for for over 20 years was sold. At 61 I had hoped to work a few more years. …

Gray Power: Get Out and Vote 
I have observed there are many movements in America today, however I believe seniors might get left on the outside looking in. As a result through …

Forced Into retirement  
I was forced into retirement six weeks ago at the tender age of just 72 after 56 years of full time work of one sort or another. I have tried hard …

Sometimes You Have No Choice 
I am now 64 years old, but I retired eight years ago (at 56). I retired not because I wanted to or even planned to, but because I had to. I had a good …

Just finished working! 
Excellent site- hello. Summary of events; Not so much retirement but constructive dismissal! Although grievances were not upheld and dismissed I decided …

Lessons Learned Later in Life 
I was an HR Manager for 36 years at a major corporation and always felt like my job was to help the employee, not the company. But for the last 10 …

Re-Incarnation... What Are Your Thoughts On It? 
Do you believe in re-incarnation? I've always felt that i have lived before, in another life. A few things lead me to believe this. First, i have …

Retirement: Who Am I? 
Who am I really? Who am I when I no longer work for a living? I have been taught to define myself by what I do, so who am I when I stop doing whatever …

Cat Tales and Pussy Willows 
My cat has no problem with retirement. In fact, he retires most of the day, taking catnaps wherever and whenever he feels like it. He does not suffer …

Click here to write your own.

New Job! 
Today I was hired as a "companion" for a well-to-do couple who needs someone to be a "friend" to her 93 year old mother. Believe it or not, the mother/mother-in-law …

One week into retirement 
Retired at 61 from the federal government service and am now one week into retirement after 43 years at work. Not missing work one bit. Went through …

Disability 
I have struggled with chronic depression all of my life. It began to affect my work and two years ago, I was told I was taking too long to be effective …

Senior Fun... 
This is what all of us 70+, other seniors, and kids (south of 60) have to look forward to!! This is something that happened at an assisted living center. …

Retirement is a journey --- looking for my next stop. 
I retired at 63. My husband was beginning to show signs of cognitive decline and my company offered a retirement incentive so it seemed like a no-brainer …

Blonde Joke: Easter Bunny 
Someone sent this to me and I simply can't resist passing it along here... yes, I am blonde! GRIN! ----- A man is driving along a highway and sees …

40 years in teaching and 4 weeks to go 
OK...I have no idea if I'm actually ready but I feel that at 66 in two months I might as well. I mean I can't possibly be teaching anymore. I Love …

I am Lost. 
I retired from a high level state government job about two years ago. Unfortunately, I retired from something, not to something. I am not a hobby person, …

My spouse is excited about retirement - I'm dreading the years of boredom 
I will retire in October at age 51. My spouse is retiring this August at age 60. We decided to retire about 18 months ago. We will relocate from …

Growing Old... A Privilege 
I have been sitting here pondering what to do this new day given to me…and such a sunny day! as i age, i am thankful for each new decade i get to experience. …

Ten years into retirement and still have no idea how to be retired!  
The fact of retirement is there is no set rules for retirement...which on one hand is nice, then again frustraing. One has many talents at the retirement, …

Finding Focus in Retirement 
Focus - something that isn't easy nowadays. There are simply too many distractions in the world. Right? Mike, an online friend from the UK, is the Time …

Standing in the Doorway 
I have just recently retired after 40+ years in the building business. Going on month 5. After sitting in the captains chair for 25 of those years, …

Retired but not really bored 
I retired in Jan 2015. I am not really bored. I have hobbies. I work in my big yard. I paint on wood and sell them, not daily but by mouth and on fb, I …

Retirement: Should Be Happier 
I retired from my second career on April 1st. Career #1 - US Air Force; career #2 - University of Connecticut. I turned 60 two weeks before I retired. …

Retirement: Why do some struggle and others just thrive? 
That is the BIG question, isn't it? Sandy, a reader, asked me privately " Why do some struggle and others just thrive? I replied that I really don't …

9 months to go 
Hello, I am a Special Education Program Coordinator in the Ministry of Education here at one of the small Pacific island nation. I have exactly 9 months …

Retirement Update by Jean 
Hi again I wrote some time ago about the possibility of leaving work as we were moving to the coast and it was too far to commute. Well I didn't leave …

TOO YOUNG TO RETIRE? 
Wendy, I have a granddaughter, Karyn, (far right in the picture) who is 41 this year and struggling with fibromyalgia. She is a qualified Registered …

Surprised at my own struggles and learning what to expect 
Hi, I lost my mom nearly a year ago and, not too long after, I decided to take early retirement because money wouldn't be a real issue. I retired last …

Retirement blues 
I retired 8 weeks ago after 18 years of working a job that sucked the wellbeing out of my soul. I have a small pension, no health insurance other than …

Women: Plan for Increased Retirement Costs vs. Men 
We don't have to be reminded of the differences between women and men. It's all too well known. However, not enough has been written to alert women about …

WRITERS' PLAYTIME 
Some years ago -- about 35 as I recall -- I started a group with the above name. Our activities took place at a local seniors' centre and it was advertised …

Retirement: An Adventure in Life 
I was "encouraged" by member(s) of management to accept the Buyout package and to consider it as an "early retirement". I took a couple of retraining …

Retired: staying in same home and pay off credit cards? 
Hi All: I have lived in this home for 25 years. Now my son lives 4 hours away, daughter 3 hours away, driving, and I have one son staying with us. …

Click here to write your own.

Stroke, then Retirement 
A year ago I had a stroke and those changes are challenging but that threw me into retiring from a job before intended. I was 57 at that time and now …

Retirement: I am perfect exactly as I am 
I am neither too much nor too little. I do not have to prove to anyone or anything who I am. I have come to know that I am the perfect expression of the …

Preretirement anxiety  
My name is SAM and I am very nervous about retiring as a public school teacher for almost 32 years. Almost my full self esteem has been wrapped up …

Life After Divorce 
My husband retired at 60 as I did, then he left me after 38 years marriage. I was hoping we were going to travel more as the children had left home. …

Thank You Hospice! 
Mom was in the hospital a few days this week, another fall. She was sent home as part of the hospice in home care group. A big thumbs up to this organization. …

Retirement: iPlan B 
Do you have a plan B? When we retired I thought we had a pretty good plan. Buy a small townhouse and live in the summer cottage (in the UP) the rest …

A Slight Detour 
I needed a half a dozen items from the grocery store. It is only four blocks to the store so I usually walk there. So I grabbed two bags ( I use the material …

FUNNY: Windows vs. Ford Motor Co 
For all of us who feel only the deepest love and affection for the way computers have enhanced our lives, read on. At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), …

My Thoughts from My Dark Midnight Ceiling 
My Thoughts from My Dark Midnight Ceiling So many words have been written over time that I think originality in a story is merely a disguise of another …

St Valentine's Day 
As St Valentine's Day draws near, you find piles and piles of chocolate boxes displayed at the entrance or a striking spot of every department store or …

Almost my last walk 
Not a very nice day today, but I had to go to the bank. It is a cool 30 f. with drizzle on and off and gusty winds. There were lots of big puddles on …

Little Visitor to my Backyard 
At the back of my house is a tiny backyard. Every year in early winter we used to have a little visitor to this yard, a butcherbird. When she came, …

So glad to find a place to write!! 
Since I was in second grade of school, I have written. I have worn many hats in my 73 years....done many things, known fascinating people. I am eternal …

Greyhound, by Harry Chapin 
It's nice to hear from recent retirees. Whether the decision to retire was yours or others, we all have thought about it and hoped it would bring great …

Happy New Year! 
REPOSTED from the RETIREMENT COMMUNITY: If I had to write about things to take into consideration as one enters the New Year that is ahead of us – several …

From 66 onward 
As many women of my generation, I waited until my children (2 girls) were in high school Until I began to work full-time as high school librarian and …

Memories Of Thanksgiving November 2014  
Memories Of Thanksgiving November 2014 I am fondly remembering the last Thanksgiving my husband and I happily shared together. At the time little …

Things to Ponder in Retirement 
As we grow older, and hence wiser, we slowly realize that wearing a $300. or a $30. watch - they both tell the same time. Whether we carry a $300 …

God's Plan for Aging 
Most seniors never get enough exercise. In His wisdom God decreed that seniors become forgetful so they would have to search for their glasses, keys and …

First Few Days of Retirement... 
I know too many details can bore you dear reader, but they are important to this story. I also promise these events really did occur. I promise some …

I do have a story, my book Mountain Ash 
Just before my husband died. my life story was published by Xlibris.com. It is self published because I had to write it at 3 am in the morning since …

Losing things... 
This week I lost two things that are important to me. First, my credit card. Second, my cell phone. Which makes me think I'm in real danger of losing a …

The Golden Age 
Old Age is Golden, or so I've heard it said, But sometimes I wonder, as I crawl into my bed, With my ears in a drawer, my teeth in a cup, My glasses …

Retirement: Not What I Thought It Would Be 
I worked for 40 years. The last 30 for the USPS. Post Office jobs pay well and offer a pension, but the work is very repetitious and sometimes mind numbingly …

Need Cataract Help... 
I have a question that retirees might help me answer. I have the beginning stages of cataracts. I have use a big magnifier to read anything. There …

Click here to write your own.

My retirement has gone to the dogs! 
I have love, lived with, and buried 4 husbands in the last 45 years. You would think, since my husbands ranged in ages, I would be prepared for just about …

Cancer? What do you mean I have Cancer??? 
Hi Wendy and all my retired friends. Some time ago I wrote to you talking about Feeling Wretched and got so much great responses from everyone here. …

Death and Grief 
This was written in October 2015: As many of you know, I lost a good friend, Phyllis, in September. I was with her all summer as life slowly slipped …

Holy Cow! It's been a rough road! What do I do now????? 
Holy Cow! It's been a rough road! I hope I'm seeing light at the end of the tunnel (or maybe that's the light on the train, right???) I adopted 2 …

Not all I hoped for 
Retired after 44 yrs of periodontics and dental implants. Practice started to slow down so thought it was time. Loved my patients and my staff! Took …

Retirement - I have arrived! - Good or Bad? 
It's been a year tomorrow since I lost my husband. We had such great plans for retirement and now I am facing this alone. The past year was truly hell …

Pre retirement stress 
I am suppose to retire in seven weeks. I will be turning 62. If I worked for at least another 4 years I would probable feel much better about it for …

Retirement Depression: Aha moment! 
My Aha! Moment came when I discovered this website. Depression, that's it. Since my retirement I was tired, un motivated to get up and do all those …

Retirement is Not what I expected 
I worked for almost 43 years in a high stress atmosphere. Never was one of those guys that loved my job but I didn't really hate it either. At first …

Black Holes 
I retired after careful planning at the end of July,working hard for 50 years and thinking I had it all worked out....alas I find retirement is unbearable …

BIGFOOT IS ABROAD! 
I read a short article the other day that finally confirmed my worst suspicions. Motherhood makes your feet bigger. The article didn’t say why motherhood …

Yesteryears Parents Lost In The Darkness Of Old Age. 
Within this modern day and age, it is strange how the dark memories of yesteryear comes to light in one's days of old age. As per my quote; "The loneliest …

The nightmare of retirement 
I dreamed of retirement for years. I am (was) a free-lance writer with over 200 articles and one book published. Mother & I were best friends & we …

Could have planned better 
Just before my 65th birthday, I decided it was time to retire. My husband had been happily retired for 8 years and I thought I was ready to join him. …

Could have planned better 
Just before my 65th birthday, I decided it was time to retire. My husband had been happily retired for 8 years and I thought I was ready to join him. …

Just starting the journey... 
My name is Elana, and I am about to retire after 31 years as a NYC elementary school teacher. I am not being forced out, but I am unhappy with the current …

Worse blunder of my life 
I worked in dietary for hospitals, nursing homes and some restaurants all my life .It was hard work but I did fairly well. Wanted to retire early so like …

Busy and blessed 
I retired/was unemployed six years ago, a carpenter by trade, as well I write for the local paper and have for 25 years. Anyway the first couple years …

How to get all my benefit information organized 
My oldest son has been questioning me on getting my event of death in order. I have a grave but live out of state now. There are decisions to make as …

Who am I? 
I just retired after about 33 1/2 years at the post office. I hated getting up at 300 a.m. and I hated being trapped there eight hours a day and I was …

New horizons  
I was sort of forced into retirement sooner than expected at the age of 51. Thought I felt I had more years to offer but circumstances dictated otherwise. …

Retired after 35 years in law enforcement 
Greetings. While I am sorry to hear of the anxiety and depression that others have experienced, it's good to know that I am not alone. After an active …

I really like this website. 
I didn't know that I would have to work at being retired. I was kind of relieved to know that other people have to work on themselves when they retire. …

The Priceless Gift 
Each one of us receive a precious priceless gift of life, and this is the great gift of perfect love. The older we get, the younger this perfect love …

Why is everyone so down on retirement? 
I'm sort of surprised to read a lot of these comments, and saddened that so many people seem to be at such a loss during retirement. I retire next year. …

Click here to write your own.

My life changed at a traffic light 
I had a thriving home inspection business. I also owned an inspection training school. Life was was good up until I was rear ended waiting for the traffic …

Computer Error / Problem 
As we Silver Surfers know, sometimes we have trouble with our computers. For those of us who seem to be tech savvy, we still encounter problems with computers …

Your Witness: what does any one life really mean? 
I retired a year and a half ago. My wife didn’t. She is two years younger and seems actually to like work, or perhaps needs it to stay busy. I didn’t …

Lost in the Future of Retirement 
I shall be retiring next year (2016) and don't have a worthy clue what to do post-retirement or how I would respond to the stateless state... Well meaning …

Life's Threesome Story. 
A positive start always ends at a peaceful and loving ending. Hi, so great to be back from my victorious journey of motivational Life's Threesome …

Things To Do if You Feel Like Nothing is Working Today ... 
This was a Facebook Post by Ken McArthur and I asked for permission to post here. Please read to the end -- and if you are someone who is at the end of …

What's next?  
Hi I retired in December and I am 60. My husband retired in January and he is 62. We always wanted to retire early and our last employer we worked for …

A positive mind is a mind of creativity. 
Growing up in a home of struggle and poverty, taught me one great lesson, and that is to fight for what you believe in. Walking the difficult road …

True Friendship! 
As a author of non-fiction stories and poems, I believe that retirement does not mean one is tired and over the wall. Retired and having the knowledge …

Early Retirement 
I was able to take a disibility retirement after 20 years of service with State Government after going into CHF. I was single and 50 years old when this …

Re-invent, Not Retire!  
Hi- I am a 66 yr old retired teacher. At the moment I am a bit lost - feeling isolated and very anxious and depressed. i have always been the life …

Another retiree 
I just had my 63rd bday. I guess I am Dave 2 from CA. I retired from the military 20 yeas ago and retired from the local government agency in 2013. Loving …

I believe in being honest. So, here goes everything......... 
I'm 64 years old. Back in 1969, after high school, I tried to join the Navy but they classified me as 4F. I had problems with epilepsy. This angered me …

The Mind-Set of Retirement 
When your retirement becomes inevitable, either from voluntary choosing your date for leaving your life's work or by having that date forced upon you through …

Saying Goodbye 
I certainly have said my share of goodbyes in my life.....to many in fact to number or remember. My first "goodbye" was my paternal grandfather, probably …

There is a world out there 
I've been a member of this general group for quite a while. I also go to the local dogparks regularly to bring my dogs and I listen to retired people there. …

Close to Retirement... 
Hello - I am closing in on my retirement within the next twelve months, so I am looking to start preparing, and meeting some friends to share some time …

Has anyone used aflac? 
When i gets time to put in for medicare at 65 has anyone also used aflac for the parts instead of the parts? for me this is so confusing. i pay …

Part D Prescription Drugs: Warning! Don't make the same mistake I did! 
Being lucky to have extremely good health, when I enrolled in Medicare, I did not enroll in the part D Prescription Drug coverage. I hadn't needed any …

One Syllable Diet  
Syllables play a larger part in my food life than they should. For instance, I’m convinced the fewer syllables the closer one is to nature. For …

Trucker: Lost my job @ 61 
Drove a semi-truck all my life, worked for fedex freight for 18 years. Can you imagine for 34 years never had an accident and then had 3 incidents …

Speak Out! 
I wrote this two months ago just for my own satisfaction, but recent experience made me want to share it. I hope you all enjoy! SPEAK OUT! Christmas …

Retired for 12 years and love it...except for one thing 
I retired back in November 2003. I had retired early due to two reasons. I had suffered an injury doing my job in 1997 and never fully recovered. I …

From Fire Inspector to What? 
I worked for 25 years as a Fire Inspector for a community of 70,000.00. With significant public responsibility and identity. I was planning on retiring …

Senior Dating Ads 
Senior Dating Ads You can say what you want about the South, but you've never heard of anyone retiring and moving North. These are actual ads seen …

Click here to write your own.

Iwo Jima and Other Battles 
February 19, 2015, is the 70th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of the Pacific island Iwo Jima. It was the most bloody battle of the Pacific theater with …

Why I Like Retirement 
Question: How many days in a week? Answer: 6 Saturdays, 1 Sunday Question: When is a retiree's bedtime? Answer: Two hours after he falls asleep …

Retirement: Not as great as I thought it would be! 
In March 2014 I retired at the age of 63. I couldn't wait for full retirement age. After 40+ years of office work I was burned out, fed up, tired, …

Retirement: I am a miserable wretch 
Hi everyone, my name is Soky and I am 66 years old. I retired from the Department of the Navy after 37 wonderful years. I am and have always been a city …

Concept of "Identity" and Transitioning From the Fairway, to the Green! 
Metaphors.. translate/paint a picture, convey life, at times, better than labeling w/words.? A friend stated, that her mother used to say, "Life …

Dress Code 
I find myself somewhat puzzled by the term 'appropriate for her age'. It seems to me to be confusing, sexist, and ageist. What is appropriate? Who are …

The Times They Are A Changing 
** Posted originally in the Retirement Community ** Back in my PC (Personal Computer) days, I took out my microphone (included with my $700 Gateway; …

Retirement: I thought it was just me... 
I came to this site in desperation, I'm TOTALLY fed up after 2 years of retirement. I've spent a fortune on hobbies that I've not started, volunteered …

Losing my identity in retirement... 
I was lucky enough to be able to retire from a very stressful job at the age of 58. While I was retiring, and collecting a pension, I knew that I …

Retirement Goals for 2015 
I am going on my 2nd year of retirement. Your latest news letter asked about what goals we might have for 2015. A few years ago I made a permanent …

One month retired - sleeping 12 hours a day! 
Hello all. First post. I retired from a stressful job on Dec 19 after 50 years in the work force (I'm 69). All I want to do is sleep, relax and …

The Best Sermons 
I don't know if these are real life stories or not. But, they may teach you many things in life. Excellent reading. It is my understand they are based …

Considering Retirement at 60 
I can get my pension next year at 60, draw social security at 62. I inherited a little less than 90K last year. I have had double depression and dysthymic …

Stuck! Retired and not happy! 
I loved my work as an advance practice nurse, loved caring for my patients, etc. My husband died unexpectedly in 2009. In 2010 our group lost our …

Making the change to retirement, sucks.. 
Just 27 more days until my retirement date. Its by choice but still unsettling. I found the comment by Dan from MN to be pretty true: "If you want to …

3 years retired and caught the retirement blahs 
I'm 71. I can go to the gym everyday, all day long if I want to. Trouble is I don't want to do anything. Volunteer; been there, done it. paid work, forget …

Premature Retirement 
Hi. I was forced to retire on disability due to severe back and health problems. What I have learned is how unfair it is for people like me, who have …

My Retirement...... 
Hi Everyone, I am so new here, yet loved the invitation to share....so here's my sharing. I retired in 2007, due my darling Husband's illness. My …

Be a Kid Again... 
Give yourself a gold star for everything you do today. Grow a milk mustache. Open a pack of cupcakes and give one to a friend even though you wanted …

Life in Retirement: Routine or Busy Life? 
I posted this in the Facebook group... after reading all the Home Cleaning on the weekend (or not) replies... I had to know more! I am curious how retirees …

Clean House in Retirement 
I posted this question to my Facebook group... now I am curious for your answers. Will also post the FB responses below too... I am always curious …

I Just Realized Something  
My dog works about 20 hours a week. He has his food prepared for him. His meals are provided at no cost to him. He visits the doctor once a year …

The Wooden Bowl 
I guarantee you will remember the tale of the Wooden Bowl tomorrow, a week from now, a month from now, a year from now. A frail old man went to live …

The Bio-Optic Organized Knowledge Device (BOOK) 
Introducing the new Bio-Optic Organized Knowledge device, or BOOK for short. BOOK is a revolutionary breakthrough in technology: no wires, no electric …

To retire or not  
I am planning on retiring sometime this year, it depends on what day you ask me, sometimes it will that day and then I think why? I have two adult children …

Click here to write your own.

Doing something important with the time and talent I have left. 
I am a strange person. While in a class at University of Wisconsin Madison, I learned about hydralic facturing which was then just starting to be used …

A retirement poem - may be your story too. 
The White By R.A. James Early morning desk calendar stares me down. Thirty-one squares mark time; golf one day, a doctor visit, a movie …

Retirees, what do you do with your time? 
I retired after 30 years with the State of Texas in July 2013. I had filed a sexual harassment grievance against my boss 4 years earlier and an investigation …

Retirement Humor 
Over the years I've collected a few quips and barbs about retirement. Rather than keep them to myself, I thought I'd share a few with you to use with …

Coping with Retirement Cynicism 
Excitement! Exhilaration! Freedom! Retirement! Those words describe what you feel as you fervently approach your retirement date. You have earned …

Retirement Can Be Funny, You Know 
Smart Grandpa One day a city police patrol car pulled up to Grandma's home and Grandpa got out of the back door. The patrolman explained to Grandma …

Sittin' on the Front Porch 
This story is so true for me, especially the last sentence. On the first day, God created the dog and said, "Sit all day by the door of your house and …

Organise Life After Retirement 
I think that it is important to organise a routine for yourself. For instance, I do my chores in the morning - washing, cleaning and cooking. The …

Hey Old Fogies, Take a Load Off Your Minds - We Ain't Getting Old After All 
This takes a load off my mind and will explain why our minds slow down. Brains of older people are slow because they know so much. People do not decline …

Retirement 
I retired at age 62 from a government job where I had worked for 33 years in different capacities. I always enjoyed my work and the people but a new CEO …

Dog Tails from the dark side 
In my first post to this group I told how, when I retired, I gave myself a gift of a puppy. As background, and after much research on show versus field …

Considering Retirement at 60 
I can get my pension next year at 60, draw social security at 62. I inherited a little less than 90K last year. I have had double depression and dysthymic …

Retirement is fun? 
I sympathize with those people who are having a hard time dealing with retirement. My job was eliminated in June, 2014. I am 65 and planned (tentatively) …

I HAVE EARNED IT! 
In my Twilight Years: As I've aged, I've become kinder to myself, and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend. I can hit the golf …

Life... can be taken away at any moment 
Got this in an email from my Uncle today. Pretty insiteful: I had a very special teacher in high school many years ago whose husband died suddenly of …

Dealing with Lyme Disease in Retirement 
I have been two years into retirement, enjoying it fully, when almost three weeks ago I was struck with an acute 24/7 pain in my left upper back and left …

Don't let FAMILY rule the GREATER 
Part of your life. It is SO much better than our LATTER years. Remember to read and trust---find your strength of the future in Haggi 2:9. I love you …

I wonder what it would have been... 
I'm on my second year of being retired and it truly has been a difficult journey. I lost my mother in 2009 and my life took a turn. Although I'm married …

Retiring soon, anxious and afraid.  
Retiring soon, anxious and afraid. My wife of 43 years has progressive aphasia. I will be caring for her and we are going to do as many of the things …

Fear of retirement 
I worked for the schools for 41 years and retired last year. I have always feared retirement. My husband lays around all day sleeping or watching TV. …

Remember distant friends 
Recently (middle of June) I learnt that a penfriend from TN had died in February. Unknowingly, of course, I had sent her a letter the day she died, and …

Fired under Shady Circumstances... 
Hello Wendy, Your site was a sign and a true blessing. I was fired (shady reasons) then oddly told at end of termination I could take early retirement? …

Triggering event 
So 2 1/2 years into retirement, I was just thinking to myself a couple of days ago, I'm happier now than I ever have been in my life. I remember feeling …

Future plans 
I am 59, have worked for 41 years, have retired with pension and have other income from land and rentals. Per se, we are financially ok. Children have …

Social Security, age 62 or 66? 
I'm retired and have been getting SS since I was 62 I get 1,500 SS and 5,000 Calpers, what will my wife get at age 62 or should she hold out for 66? …

Click here to write your own.

Pondering Retirement 
I'm 61, married, a professional, employed, getting weary (of working) and pondering retirement. I don't feel well-informed of the process. Financially …

Help Lord! I'm Having a Senior Moment (book) 
Subtitled: Note to God on Growing Old This is a humorous Christian book on Growing Old. The product description on Amazon says: "Like it or not, …

Senior Products: Need Your Help 
My image says it all.. I posted it on Facebook and the Retirement Community and will add any products to this page so it might help retirees find helpful …

A Chinese Pickle – Without The Noodles (part l) 
Mark Twain once said, "Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter." Retirement can be made easier if you have the right …

4 Months into Retirement - Transition 
Greetings. I have just completed four months of retirement after being on the job for past 43 years in the security and wildlife management scene. …

Do tv shows reinforce our negative sense of self?  
Sad. Funk. Odd person out. Busy but not satisfied at the end of the day. No or little purpose with each day. I read these or variations on various posts …

The first two months - this rocks! 
Well, here I am, two and a half months into retirement and this is what I have realized: 1. All these household activities I planned on doing when …

East meets West 
I was surprised and touched by the story of the General who after a life of service he thought he went form somebody to nobody. The honesty the transparency …

Too young to be old 
After 25 years in the same industry and a less than perfect boss, at 64, I decided to leave with no job, no prospects and only a hand full of savings. …

Retiring Soon 
I am still working but have put in my paperwork to retire on June 1, 2014. I am planning to take some time off before I commit to any activities like …

Young Retiree 
Hi, I am single...which might be a problem, or not. Yes all my friends work. I retired 8 months ago. I had just turned 57 that month. I had worked in a …

How To Maintain A Healthy Level Of Insanity in Retirement 
1. At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasses on and point a Hair Dryer At Passing Cars...watch 'em Slow Down! 2. On all your cheque stubs, …

The Packing Fool 
Yes, dear readers, I have become a "packing genius"....I see it, I wrap it, I pack it, I load it. I am considering opening up my own moving company/consulting …

My Beloved Sam 
My Beloved Sam has been gone for 6 1/2 years and there are special times like these that I especially miss him. He had a very deep, quiet sense of humor …

Retiree Writes His own Obituary 
Fox News published this obit and I just had to share with retirees. Walter George Bruhl Jr. wrote his own obit. Walter died at age 80, in Florida, …

Waiting........ 
When you're young and time doesn't matter, one sits around in idle chatter, but when the twilight hovers near, one almost wants to shed a tear. …

RETIREMENT – and the Commercial Enemy Within 
Having recently played ‘catch-up’ with the considerable unopened mails ensconced within my Inbox, my attention was immediately drawn to the plethora of …

Countdown.......1.....2.....3! 
Well,for those that are following Ricardo's "big move", this is an update as we get closer to closing on our new house. We will be closing this next …

Moving Notes, and Sundry things 
As some of you are aware who visit this web site, I am in the process of moving, and with the move, I am uncovering "lost treasures" in this house that …

Attention Blood Donors! 
I've been a regular blood donor for over 30 years but recently I tried something new. Recently, after donating blood, I received a call from a representative …

Greatest Generation - Volunteerism 
There are not too many things I can agree with Tom Brokaw, former NBC New anchor. He and I just don’t see eye to eye on many things. But for the one …

Retirement: A bottle of single malt and a puppy 
What do these have in common? The first was a gift at my farewell lunch, which proves that my co-workers knew me well. The second was a gift to myself …

Now....let us count our blessings 
After having read some of the comments concerning, depression, anxiety, and boredom, I would offer some of my own thoughts on aging, life in general, and …

"Movement At Hand" 
My fellow retirees and soon to be, I write this as I am beginning to gather up our "stuff" and begin a move to a new community, and a new way of life. …

Alone Again...Naturally 
In 1972 Gilbert O’Sullivan sang a song about being alone and was one of Rock N Roll’s top hits for that year. Before delving into what I want to say, …

Click here to write your own.

A Bit Of Prose....Reflections On Mortality 
Death Came Calling..... it knocked hard and long, but finally entered. I was not prepared and did not invite it in. There is no time, no season nor …

Hate Retirement 
I retired at 62 way too young. I went back to work in 6 mo. I am 64 now and still working 6 mo. a year. I still don't like retirement. I live in …

Innovative Boomers Create a Cooperative Householding Adventure 
Amazon Book Link: My House Our House: Living Far Better for Far Less in a Cooperative Household New Year’s Day 2014 Basking in the warmth of …

Wonderful world. 
It's a wonderful world we live in and borrow during our lifetime, enjoy it to the hilt despite any drawbacks and heartaches we have on the way. I retired …

Finding Myself in Retirement 
In my senior year of high school, 1965, an English teacher told me he thought I could become a good writer. It’s funny how a little bit of encouragement …

What Is A Seniors Lifestyle? 
Many people view the senior years or their "retirement" with some degree of trepidation. When we think back to our parents' generation when it seemed …

Glad I am Not Alone 
I am a new retiree (Oct 30, 2013). After working 20 years at a small company where I was the go to... #2 person after the owner of the company. …

Jumping off a Cliff 
I am grateful this isn't this time two years ago, because I was getting ready to retire in a few days at that time. Little did I know what a challenge …

Holiday Greetings! 
I just thought that I would extend to my "fellow retirees" on Wendy's web site a very happy, HEALTHY,blessed, holiday season. Yet another year is in …

Reflections on Life, and Death 
As some may know, I buried my 100 year old mother one month ago. Her belief in her Creator was great. I came across this piece in her belongings and shared …

Retirement 101 
So for all of the new retirees: Yes, It is normal to feel out of sorts! Here are a few things I have learned in the past few months. 1.Rest You …

Retired Newbee 
I recently had the opportunity to retire after 4o year of working, majority of time was in healthcare. I enjoy some of retirement, definitely in new …

THE PLAN 
In planning a strategy for retirement one of the problems I encountered is not having a complete plan and sticking to that plan. Never expect everything …

Guilt 
Is anyone else out there troubled with guilt? I led a very sinful life full of horrible choices... and there was no reason for this, I was bright, popular, …

Generation comparison - a baby-boomer's opinions. 
I am aged 58 and one of the post-war 'baby boomer' generation this article refers to. Here in the UK not every family had it easy in the post-war years …

Lonely  
I retired in 1997 at the age of 61 as I got married to my soul mate whom I met in Shanghai during a travel. He had a store in Monterey, California and …

New retiree seeking ideas 
I recently retired I am in the process of reinventing myself. I still miss the workplace, people, structured schedule. I am told this feeling will come …

Content in Retirement 
Terry is married and retired at age 58. He was an Internal Auditor when employed. Employment History I worked for two employers over my lifetime. …

With 2 days to retirement, I am suddenly freaking out!! 
I have finally made it to retirement!! I turned 62 this month and will get a decent retirement pension and social security. I will be comfortable financially. …

Serving God: Bringing His Message to Little Children Part 2 
This posting is an update to a posting where I laid out my retirement plans. What a year I have had. I did retire as of June 1. And now, my life …

Greatest Generation vs Baby Boomers 
This is my take on a comparison as a Baby Boomer vs the Greatest Generation. I grew up in a middle class home where my folks provided me a nice home, …

My retirement journey 
I was forced to retire over two years ago and have been floundering in retirement until the last three weeks. I would get up every morning and try …

Moved into New Retirement, with Challenges 
This website has been very helpful in my retirement. It took me from panic to being able to plan and actually retire at the end of may this year. …

Retired....what is that? 
I pretty much was directed into widowhood and retirement at the same time. I tried to keep our business afloat but being a construction business I …

Bored Out Of My Mind 
I get up in the morning and the first thought that pops in my head is what the hell am I going to do today? I worked my whole life and retired at a …

Click here to write your own.

Feel the dog chasing the car - what do you do when you catch it? 
Like many, have thought about retirement for many years. Have lots of hobbies that I'd like to indulge. Many days I'd be going to work thinking 'if …

The Irrelevant Man  
Retirement? I am a male that enjoys tongue-in-cheek humor and I have already retired. But I have an announcement. I have been considering a sex-change …

Online Business, Anyone? 
I am two weeks into a Website Challenge/ Class and loving it! I love being challenged, part of the reason for this website! I need to continue to learn …

What If Retirement Was Called Inspirement - A Time To Wake Up And Live! 
Inspirement Time, a time to shift from Caterpillaring to being a beautiful butterfly and experiencing life in a new and different way.   A way that excites …

Ten Weeks.....and counting 
Ricardo here checking in with all you lovable retirees or soon to be's or wanna be's. It has been approximately ten weeks since I left my position that …

Don't retire  
Hi my name is shirley, I'm 65, and retired 2yrs ago, only retired due to ill health and after my op couldn't face going back to work, so retired but I'm …

Trusting in My Retirement Decision 
I am getting ready to retire... 14 Mondays to go! After reading many other stories of anxiety and sleepless nights I don't feel so unique anymore. …

Retirement...Tme to turn the page to a new chapter 
Well, it is "D" Day at the "OK" corral for yours truly. Some thirty eight years earlier I entered this office as the youngest employee, and now I exit …

Costa Rica ?? 
Hello new friends I've been retired 2 yrs I'm 56 and very healthy, My bride will retire in 1.5 to 2 yrs and tell them to take that job and …

2012 Resolutions versus 2013 Objectives 
What will I do differently in 2013 as compared to 2012? Summing up my New Years’ resolutions for 2012, they were as follows: Exercise – incorporate …

Serving God: Bringing His message to little children 
I am a senior getting ready to retire in 2013. I have a long story of being touched by spirit and turning thoughts into action. But here is the shortest …

Retirement: Time is going too fast 
Since I retired I find it hard to find things to do, I have a very small pension so I am quite restricted as to the things to do. Even so I find that …

......twas the nite........before 
....and they heard him exclaim ere he drove out of sight, "Happy Christmas To All And To All A Good Night!" Best wishes to one and all who have gotten …

Happy retirement 
I retired as Principal of a Post Graduate Govt. college in Rajasthan, India. At the time of retirement I had some problem with my brain. I continued to …

It's rough out there... 
I had a union job for 27 years with 13 years perfect attendance. I made 21.00/hr and great insurance(that I rarely used ). In 2003 the company filed …

The Christmas Holiday Season 
As with many folks, the Christmas Holiday is one filled with unpleasant memories or unrealistic expectations. It's a time when we tend get in debt or spend …

Observations......and other thoughts 
Since at this point in my life.....almost in retirement, it will be about six weeks or so, it seems as though I (as well as my other half) are spending …

Double trouble, empty nest and recent retirement. 
Hi, Just starting to write this helps me some. I retired 4 days after turning 55, this is a good age to leave the fire department, my saying the last …

Enforced retirement 
After returning in February of this year from a holiday in South Africa, I was informed by my new bosses that I could either be made redundant or take …

Retired Traveller 
Age really is just a number. As for me, I was fortunate to have resided in Saudi Arabia for eight years with a great deal of wide-world travel in-between. …

Loving Life!! 
My father always said, "A rocking chair will kill you!" He meant we should never stop being active. He lived what he talked! He walked 7/8 mile every …

Unplanned Retirement  
On September 1, 2011, I was forced to retire from my job that I loved and had defined me for more than 25 years. I was a school bus driver and the school …

LIFE 
Relationships in this world change about as rapidly as the weather does. Here today and gone tomorrow! What in fact holds some relationships together for …

TIMING 
Well, as they say, "the best laid plans of mice and men." Those that have been following my posts perhaps remember that my final "check out date" was …

Burgers & Fries with a Side Order of Laughter 
"Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer, but wish we didn't."  - Erica Jong Whilst reading Irwin Lengel’s latest and masterful …

Click here to write your own.

Looking toward a Seamless Transition to Retirement 
I don’t have to retire now. I can continue in my present job as a publications editor in an academic institution for a few more years. But I will probably …

Death and Your Personal Possessions 
For 30 years, I've collected "stuff". Older furniture that I dearly love, house plants, art products, funky things that adorn my home... I wonder, when …

Retirement and Time 
Are you wasting time in your own retirement? We only have so many minutes, weeks, months, years left. We cannot buy time. We don't know when our time …

Many boring days.,.. 
First, I want to thank the Almighty for my health. It has given me the blessing of being able to work for more than 30 years and enjoy my life to the …

GO -- BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE! 
I am 87 years old and just returned from Jamaica. Now, I'm sure there are many that age and older who have travelled and enjoyed it, but for me it was …

VIew from my Retirement Window:
Morning Ramblings 
As I post this, I too am looking out of my window into my back yard, it is just dawn, the birds are singing,it is cool and refreshing, a bright new day.....as …

The Second Time Around.... 
In April, or shall I say last month, I had my first opportunity to travel back to my home state of Illinois. I was born and raised in Chicago and have …

Baby Boomer Memory Test 
This is a great BABY BOOMER MEMORY TEST! Have a paper and pencil handy to record your answers.. Your mind isn't as sharp as it once was! Grin! There …

2012 Retirement Confidence Survey 
The 2012 Retirement Confidence Survey was published by Employment Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) in March 2012, and it's not pretty (as you might expect). …

Is it possible to become a Senior Entrepreneur (Seniorpreneur)? 
At 65 years old, I was almost penniless but definitely LOST not knowing what I should do with my life. I read a book by Colonel Harland Sanders, titled: …

Book: The Power of Self Healing, by Dr. Mancini 
Dr. Phil had the author of The Power of Self Healing on the show. He was treated by him, as a chiropractor, first, in Dallas, and now by an associate …

Boredom and Cabin Fever times a zillion! 
I retired December 2010 at the age of 56 after 22 years of Federal service and prior to that several years of banking. Right after retiring my husband …

Gordon Kinghorn's Bio 
I am a former member of British Armed Forces and served thirty-four years as an Electrical Engineer - over the last fifteen years however, I worked as …

PRECIOUS PEARLS OF TIME
BACK TO THE FUTURE 
SWEET & SOUR MEMORIES. I feel all that is stored in our brain, be it sweet or acrid, after a considerable period, all seems a kind of pleasant one, …

My Retirement 
I retired on November 30, 2007 in the same location where we had been living since June 2005. We moved from Washington D.C. back in 2005 for me to take …

Retirement Move made me Happy 
I retired five years ago from my job as a government prosecutor in Harrisburg, PA. I had long since decided to move "home" to the area where I grew up, …

Retirement Agrees with US! 
I spend a lot of time making extra money on the computer. I write articles, and I work on Amazon Mechanical Turk for some extra weekly money, as my pension …

Retirement: How did I have time to Work? 
I must say that I can actually tell you that I don't know how I had time to work now that I am on the rolls of the retired. I retired on November 20, …

Retirement & My Time 
After 32 years, I officially retired from the US Postal Service. I thought I would have plenty of time to get done all the stuff that I wanted to do. …

Retirement is Great! 
I retired almost a year ago and was very nervous about how I would occupy my time and my mind. Although I felt excited about retiring, it also made me …

Retirement: Life in the Slow Lane 
Over the past few years, It has been a lot harder to find things to occupy myself with. My day usually starts off the same. Wake up and eat breakfast …

Retirement - The life beyond 
During my formative years, I enjoyed the company of one uncle Tommy; he introduced me to golf and my ensuing passion for the game led to a solid bond developing …

Pre-Retirement:
The Power of Time and Patience 
This is a Great Retirement Planning Tip... so I wanted to highlight it! If you are still in the Retirement Thinking stage -- read this! It's good! Wendy …

Senior Worries 
No matter where a person finds himself, he always thinks that the “good life” is just around the corner. In high school, he thinks that college will …