Hi Ms. Mediator!
Thank you for starting all these threads about important life topics. I really enjoy reading them.
I consider myself to be in a "pre-retirement" phase right now. I've spent at least half my life living near or looking after retired people, so retirement always seemed like a progressive part of life to me. And every retired person always told me the same thing: "Save your money, and maybe someday you can do this, too."
My biggest inspiration was my grandparents, who traveled the world when they retired (visiting every continent EXCEPT Asia, ironically, since that's the one I'm from!)
And so I always used to think I would grow up and do the same.
For the past 10 years, I've spent most of my time living in retirement communities and even a nursing home near family members. I wasn't just "near" these places, but I actually lived within them and was a part of them, paying for my own residence there and either down the hall or down the street from family, so it's been quite an eye-opening experience.
People were always asking me the same two questions. "WHAT are YOU doing HERE?" -- sometimes out of curiosity, sometimes out of bitterness -- so I used to tell them that I had spent all my money on Botox.
The other thing they had no qualms about asking was, "What's WRONG with YOU???" because they assumed the the only way I could live there was because I was severely mentally/physically handicapped and/or disabled.
In some cases, I was around people in their 70's and 80's playing golf and pickleball everyday, and in another location, I would regularly eat every meal with people who had canes, walkers, and were in wheelchairs. Many weren't all that old. There was one man who had to use a full walker whom I thought was about 40 -- I was genuinely shocked to learn he was almost 60. And I heard story after story of how people thought their retirement was going to be, but life had blindsided them (illness, disability, death of spouse, spouse with dementia, etc.) with something completely different, and now they were doing their best to adjust. It's a lesson that's always in the back of my mind, and sometimes creeps more to the front.
I am currently trying to shift into partially retired life, having been able to cut down on working hours and have more flexibility with my schedule, which I am very grateful for.
My biggest concern is that I don't want to be a financial burden to anyone. I've seen case after case in which either children are irresponsible and expect parents to pay for them, or parents have been irresponsible and now expect to live off their kids.
I really hope to be something different. I have my eye on some ministry work I'd like to do -- I would love to go back to serving through writing letters to inmates and people in the military (the common theme for me is corresponding with people who are in extreme situations,) but I don't feel I have the ok from God due to safety issues.
So I'll look for other small ways, like a volunteer quilting group I came across that makes items for military families (even though I have no clue about quilting, the lady said if I could cut fabric and sew in a straight line, I'd be good!) and/or doing things like packing care boxes, etc. Writing letters seems to be a crucial part of my life though, and I'm glad to see there are some groups that still utilize them (such as to cancer patients, etc.) But I admit I haven't joined yet because I am unsure of what I would say, especially if I were writing to multiple people.
My initial dream for retirement was to travel the world like my grandparents. I've found some travel agencies that specialize in single female travel (designed with safety in mind,) but it's very, very expensive, and I'm not nearly as keen on flying as I once was (most of the trips are overseas.) I'm thinking I might have to limit my itinerary to the USA and/or places attached to it.
It's all in God's hands. One thing that my time in retirement communities has taught me is to heed the passage about the rich fool who thought the party would never end, so he kept building bigger store houses -- and God demanded His life from him that very night. I don't want to make plans for which God is telling me there is no storehouse to put them.
Whatever is ahead, I just hope it can at least be of some kind of useful purpose... and oh, maybe a bit of fun (and maybe even a little mischief) along the way.
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