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"At that point, the wife explained to the reporter exactly what she and her husband were trying to do with their lives: “We’re still trying to strike a balance between engagement and freedom.”
I think those words, a balance between engagement and freedom, come closest to describing what most people, myself included, are looking for in later life—a mix of activities that will allow us to stay involved, in mind and body, with our community, friends and family, and still allow us to enjoy the fruits of our working years. And that can be tricky.
The author E.B. White, not surprisingly, put this much better:
“If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy. If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem. But I arise in the morning, torn between a desire to improve (or save) the world and a desire to enjoy (or savor) the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.”"
As for me, I'm not a very good retiree. I keep getting drawn back to doing my career work part time because I love it so much. My current contract expires in October and I'm not looking forward to that.
Key question: Has your enjoyment of life increased? Lessened? Or stayed the same. Why?
I give myself an A, because my goal is to have fun and I find ways to do that every day.
E.B. White's problem is she has a goal to save the world. In retirement I no longer have goals like that. I have come to the conclusion that I don't actually know what might save the world, and the world is probably better off without my efforts, anyway. So I do a little bit of volunteer work, make a few donations, and otherwise leave "world saving" to the next generation.
I don't think saving the world and enjoyment are mutually exclusive. If you enjoy planting trees, reading to munchkins, teaching something to someone, you're improving the world and enjoying your life.
As for planning, other than appointments, I avoid it like the plague. Retirement means freedom from planning, as much as possible anyway.
I only loved my job the 1st 20 yrs or so. Then it was just a job. Then I grew to hate it, especially when the government started telling me how to do it.
I have the money I need to live comfortably.
I travel.
I have freedom to do what I want when I want.
I have more family time.
I am healthy, In my option that is an A
My grade is A+ because I have everything I want, and everything I dreamed about.
No, I am not wealthy; no, I don't have mega money in savings or investments.
What I do have is complete emotional and physical freedom from the work-a-day life. I'm not materialistic; don't need to be entertained; don't need a fancy house, car or clothes and never feel as though I've sacrificed anything.
I would give myself an A- with the only bad part being getting old. If I was 50, than an A+......LOL
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