After Retiring
Stay active, it is so important.
As we go through our lives we all talk about retirement. For younger people it is a long way off, we all go through the same thing. Almost everyone I know when they are younger they say that when I retire I am not going to do anything.
My wife and I both retired in 2010. It has now been five years since we retired and one of our favorite things is to take a nice long walk with our dog, Cookie. We live close to a 5,500 state park with many miles of hiking trails. We often go there and spend hours walking the trails and relaxing. Also at our age it is good for the health to walk.
As you can see by the photo in 2012 we took a few days trip to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. We went to Dollywood and took in a few shows while we were in Pigeon Forge. One of those was a show and dinner at Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede. It was a wonderful night and a fascinating experience. We also took a drive into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Such amazing and stunning beauty.
Last summer, 2016, we went back to the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania where I grew up. We attended my fifty year high school reunion. Fifty years, sometimes it seems like it was just yesterday that I graduated. It was a great time at the class reunion. Many of those people I haven't seen in a lot of years. Will we have another class reunion. I have no idea, but I really would like to have another one.
I took up writing as I neared retirement. I love to write short stories and novels. I am not a world famous writer, but I am doing something that makes me happy. That is what matters. Some people like to do volunteer work, such as volunteering at a hospital or an animal shelter. That is a terrific thing to do. Other people continue to work, some out of need for the finances and others because they love what they are doing.
The important thing is, when retirement age comes don't make the decision to sit in your reclining chair and drink beer all day. Think of retirement as another chapter in your life. Make it a good ending. Stories are so much nicer when there is a good ending to leave your son and daughter.
Copyright Larry W. Fish 2017
