I borrowed that lingo from a book I very recently read about retirement.  Seems the word “retirement” sounds too old so, with people living longer healthier lives these days, language a little more encouraging is the new buzz word.  Regardless of what you call it, I have now entered the next phase of my life and am still coming to terms with what that actually means.

By the end of July 2019, I knew this was coming and, probably like a lot of other retirees, went immediately into denial and continued along my merry way.  But, as the end date of December 20^th drew closer, and I started training someone else to take over some of my work responsibilities, the reality hit home and I vacillated between euphoria and dread – thoughts of “I would be free” (whatever that means) and “what am I going to do with myself every day”. 

For someone who has worked for over 45 years, and enjoyed most of it, I worried that my identity and my value were associated with my work.  With Christmas over, and a feeling that I was in limbo, I found a quiet moment and made a list of all the things I wanted to do or accomplish over the next several months.  Not a crazy, unobtainable list – just normal, ordinary things like learning how to bake bread and make cheese, for example.  Or maybe take on some contract work in a little while.  I was surprised at how long the list became and, since then, I’ve added a few items as I think of them.  I was also surprised that this simple act of planning and documenting seems to have helped me and given me something to focus on instead of worrying about the uncertainty of my future days.

More surprisingly, I’ve crossed off a couple of items already, not because I had a moment of sanity and changed my mind but because I’ve actually completed them.  I’ll share, in the order of completion:

Research Nutrition and Change Eating Habits

I used to love to cook and there was a time when I could throw together a very delicious dinner party.  As my career progressed and time constraints increased, the frequency of dinner parties dropped and my enthusiasm to cook also took a plunge.  Don’t get me wrong, we didn’t starve and we didn’t eat processed foods either.  But my repertoire shrunk and I found myself relying on old favourites week after week.  Now I’ve got the time so I put “research nutrition and change eating habits” on my list. 

Over many years, I’ve acquired a very impressive collection of cook books which, in my opinion, are much more pleasant to thumb through than finding recipes online.  So, I chose a couple of the books that also include nutritional information and refreshed my knowledge of what was healthier to eat.  I’ve started buying different and varied produce and trying new recipes.  No complaints so far, although it’s early days, and my enthusiasm is coming back, so I crossed that off my list.  Who knows, maybe there will be a dinner party in our near future…

Buy a Baritone Ukulele and Learn to Play It

I already play a Ukulele – not as well as Steve plays his guitar but certainly good enough to accompany myself while singing and to keep up with my fellow jam members.  I learned on a cheapy Concert model I bought myself, then Steve bought me a larger, nicer Tenor model for a birthday a few years back that I tote around to acoustic jam sessions in others’ living rooms.  Then, he bought me a fabulous electric Tenor a couple of years ago for Christmas that I play every week in our more formal, scheduled jam sessions.  But the only reason why I play a Ukulele is because, in the summer of 2013 when we were heading back to “Adult Camp” at the Haliburton School of the Arts”, there were no beginner guitar lessons that year which was a huge disappointment.  Let’s just say that I “settled”. 

Soprano, Concert, and Tenor models are all strung the same way so, once you’ve learned the finger placements for the notes and chords you can switch back and forth between all three.  And then there is the largest model, the Baritone, which sounds mellower, like a guitar, and that I’ve been coveting for quite some time.  So, why didn’t I just go out and get one or, better yet, put it on a gift list and let Steve get it for me?  Basically, because I’m lazy and frugal, a seriously limiting combination.  A nice Baritone is costly (frugal me) and is strung differently than the other models so a learning curve is involved (lazy me).  However, it’s strung exactly like the top four strings on a guitar and that’s why I’ve wanted one.  If I can learn to play the Baritone well enough, the next step is my ultimate goal of playing a guitar – yes, I’m taking a very long and convoluted path to get there but I’m having fun in the process.  So, I put “buy a Baritone Ukulele and learn to play it” on my list.

Thanks to very generous donations at work, I was sent off on retirement redirection with a gift certificate to Long & McQuade that covered most of the cost of a new addition to my Ukulele family.  So, I’ve crossed off the “buy” part and am happy to say that it won’t be long until I can cross off the “learn to play” part, too. Even though I get a bit confused, I’m learning the finger placements much, much faster than when I picked up my first instrument almost seven years ago. And I already have the strumming under control.

Here’s my Ukulele family in the order I acquired them…

Research Daytime Exercise Classes at Parks & Rec

Yup, everyone’s New Year’s resolution is to get in shape.  Except I’ve never made this resolution before because, frankly, I don’t like exercise (oh, lazy me again?).  And my other excuse was that I never had the time. 

Okay, so now I have the time and I might just be a little more interested in options other than walking from one room to another or from the house to the car.  But I don’t want to flail around (yes, word chosen on purpose) with all those nubile 20-year-olds in the evening classes – been there, tried that, hated it.  Certainly the daytime classes would be filled with more people like me, right?  So, I put research daytime exercise classes at Parks & Rec on my list. I chose three very different classes to try out my theory.

• Foam Roller:  Sounds comfy, no?  Far from it!   Basically, you place a rather firm foam roller under various body parts – back, sides, and front – then roll around on a floor mat for a very deep and penetrating self-massage.  To give you an idea of how much this hurts, the instructor – lovely lady I may learn to eventually dislike – continually reminded us that if it didn’t hurt we didn’t have the roller in the right place!  This class promotes loosening up of sore muscles and increasing blood circulation.  I’m going back.

• Zumba Gold:  Gold = for older people – YES, that’s me!  I tried a few regular Zumba classes in the evenings a few years ago which is where the word “flailing” came from and my description of nubile 20-year-olds.  According to my sisters, this is a much slower, kinder version of Zumba.  There were no young, hard bodies in the room but it was obvious that many of them had been doing this for quite some time.  But, as so many people like to say, “You’re only competing with yourself”.  After the second dance, I decided that I couldn’t coordinate my arms and legs at the same time (flailing comes to mind), so dropped the arms in favour of foot placement.  Not that I was successful with that strategy, by any means.  And, by the 30-minute mark of an hour class, I wanted to ask if it was over yet.  The humiliation continued (self-assessment, I don’t think anyone else noticed or cared) and I actually broke a sweat which, I guess, is why I was there – to get my heart rate up.  Both of my sisters are older than me.  If they can do it, so can I.  I’m going back.

• Yoga for Older Adults:  I actually enjoy yoga and have taken classes on and off (more off than on) since I was a young adult.  When I arrived, there were chairs in the room for those older adults who needed them.  Not me, of course.  Wrong!  Although I’m familiar with many of the poses, turns out my balance sucks.  That chair came in very handy.  This course promotes flexibility and balance.  I’m going back.

Did I think I was one of a few retirees in my community?  Did I think that I’d have my choice of parking spots?  Did I think I’d have lots of personal space in these classes?  You betcha!  I had no idea how many like-minded people would be taking advantage of daytime exercise classes.  But, no one was under 50 although some were more adept than others.  Well, good on all of us.

(There are absolutely no pictures of me exercising, nor will there ever be!)

There are still several “to-do’s” on my list, including the baking of bread and making of cheese I mentioned above, which I’m excited to try now, thanks to Santa.

And then there are my hobbies and social engagements…   

As I focus and refocus on my list, I may end up crossing off the “maybe take on some contract work” because I might have initially added it to my list in a moment of insanity. 

It’s only been three weeks, and Christmas holidays took up two of those, but I’ve had five full months to stress about this “redirection” thing.  I may not be 100% clear on what it all means yet but I think I’m now okay with it.