Well another month has flown by and as always I have been
very busy, so it looks like these blogs are turning into monthly and not
weekly.
I have been observing as I am wont to do, those in our
community who are happy and those who are well, just plain nasty and
grumpy. I began subtly asking some of
the happy retiree's questions as to how they cope with retirement (I avoided the grumpy ones, they scare me <Grin>), and here is what I discovered:
The happy busy retirees just seem to have a love of life, or
as the French say a Joie de vivre! These are the
ones I call successful at being retired. (Grin) I decided to lump myself into
the successful retiree category. It seems they exercise
a lot, keep busy with the clubs, create strong friendships and have strong
family bonds.
Throughout our lives we always strive to fit in, whether we were
in kindergarten, high school or work.
Interestingly enough, the happy people I observed and spoke with, said
they were unsuccessful at fitting in, that they were often referred to as
wacky, odd or little nuts (I like the nuts part). Today they are referred to as eccentric.
One lady who is 82, (who always makes me laugh and smile as she
and her 92 year old hubby hit the dance floor), told me she gained a sense of
modesty about life and her expectations of life, that many of the “popular”
people never seemed to achieve. She said
she felt that’s why she adapted better to being old in America. The funniest
thing she said was “after all, in America everyone over 60 is essentially
considered weird.” (Grin) I like being referred to as weird.
Many told me they felt they had lived a tougher harder life
than their peers. That coping with tough problems in early life made them better
able to cope with old age. My take away is, yes life can be hard, but so what,
every day is a choice, you can simply give up or overcome your obstacles and
get on with the business of living!
There was a common theme for all of the happy retirees
with whom I spoke/and observed, “Stay Busy.”
They all seemed to have no problem staying busy outside of the work
place, what with their homemaking responsibilities, spending more time with
their kids and grandchildren, and just doing the day to day home and garden
chores (or as I refer to it, day to day life).
Another interesting observation of these happy retiree's appeared to be
a common love of dogs.
Dogs seemed to be a huge part
in the Oddster’s lives. This made sense
to me, as dogs are not only a huge factor in companionship, but contribute to daily exercise with the walking of dogs. It also gives them the social stimulus as they make and meet new friends on the walks and at the dog parks. I think we can all agree that animals bring that
feeling of being needed and unconditional love.
I am proud to say I fit right in; I am the queen of
weirdness and eccentricity! From my
perspective in observing and speaking with these awesome oldies but goodies, just be proud and embrace your eccentricity, develop and respect toughness, stay
active and busy, and most importantly enjoy being a dog owner. (I love my Gimli!)
Stay with me for more
ramblings and observations… and thank you again for taking this retirement
journey with me, or as I refer to it, “my
longest coffee break." I'm
just sayin’…
