If you have been following my series that describes my self-publishing adventures related to my book, A Summerland Stories Scrapbook: Memories & Memorabilia, you will know that I’ve been looking forward to retirement! (If you haven’t seen the series, you’ll be able to see a list of all the posts at the end of this one). Of course, theoretically retirement starts (in Canada at least) at age 65 … but I deferred it until age 70, which I reached this summer. I always thought 70 was really old, but now that I’m there, I don’t feel old at all (though I don’t have quite as much energy as I once had…). Consequently, I don’t like the idea of “sitting around enjoying my golden years.” Instead, I’d like to keep busy, doing things that I enjoy.
NOTE! One of my writing friends just phoned me in a panic, thinking I’d no longer be available to help her with her writing… But fear not! I’ll still be editing and helping writers! That is something I enjoy! Not “work”!
Back in the day, before retirement, I did a lot of different things: raising 5 children, teaching elementary and secondary school, tutoring special needs students, doing lots of writing and journalism, running an orchard, editing books and other materials for writers, conduct workshops, and on and on and on (if you’re interested, check out my About page). So I thought, wow, once I retire I’ll be able to sit back and relax! Unfortunately, once this very busy summer was over, and I had a chance to catch my breath, I realized that I’m not very good at relaxing.
What I am pretty good at, is organizational skills. So … I sat down and made a list of a lot of things I have been wanting “to do” for a long time! And then I posted a “schedule” on the wall above my computer desk. It includes things I want to do every day, specific things I want to do on specific days of the week, plus details of some of those things (like business stuff, writing projects, learning new things, blogs, reading, marketing my book, tech stuff, etc.). Now when I get up every morning, I write down the day’s “to do’s” in my agenda book, and as I do each item, I check it off. Of course, since I’m “retired,” for most of the things on the list, I do only about 1/2 hour each instead of hours and hours on specific items, as I used to do before retirement. And if I don’t make it through the entire list (for example, when things pop up like appointments, visits with friends, volunteering, etc.), since I’ve only “missed” about 1/2 hour of any of the “to-do” items, I don’t feel guilty or worried about catching up. Nice!
Want an example of one of my days? Well, let’s see … Between yesterday and today my list includes: ride my bike or go for a walk, practice my guitar (and/or piano), do a French lesson from an online site I signed up for (I highly recommend it), do some reading (at the moment I am reading through Jane Friedman‘s course on Writers Making Money (I also highly recommend Jane’s website, courses, books, etc. … and since I’m not so concerned about making money from my writing now that I’m retired, I can just relax and read this course for fun!), do some knitting or crochet (or embroidery or sewing), work through a math course (for fun!), go through my old journals and rip out lots of pages I no longer want to keep around (also fun!), have some devotional time, blog (here I am!), do a bit of journaling or write to a prompt, poke around in the garden, and of course check out my email and computer stuff like Facebook (no snail mail at the moment, thanks to the Canada Post strike 😦 ). I don’t have too much in the way of “extras” today, though I do need to drop by the local library and pick up a few groceries; yesterday, I spent an hour or so discussing short story how-to’s with a fellow writer. So! Doesn’t that sound like a couple of fun days? I think so!
Once a week I go through my agenda book, and list in another notebook, the main things I’ve been happily doing. For example, I jot down things I’ve been reading or writing, people I’ve visited with, and so on. Maybe I’ll blog more about some of those another time.
What about you? Are you retired? What do you do with your “golden years” days? Let me know in the comments … Click on “Leave a Comment” in the upper left hand corner 🙂
Norma J. Hill 
Hi Norma.
Taking Creative Writing in high school [with you as my classmate] has never left its impact on me. I’ve been writing bits and pieces off and on over the years as a result. I’ve had a couple stories published in 2 local newspapers but have had to focus my time on earning an income.
In doing so, I’ve been to college 3 times. First, I studied for entry into the world of fashion design working as a pattern maker for various fashion designers in Vancouver. My 2nd bout of college trained me for the medical world working as a nursing unit clerk.
By the age of 40, the wind had been taken away from my sails when I had become the recipient of long term disability, having been diagnosed with Relapsing-Remitting MS. Once diagnosed, I entered my 3rd bout of college, studying holistic nutrition through correspondence training so I could work at my own pace when I had the strength and energy to do so. I applied everything I learned to myself, including how to handle stress in a healthy, effective manner. During this time, I also strengthened my walk with my Lord and Saviour, fully relying on Him to guide me through my vacillating challenges. After 21 years of practicing my new and improved way of living, I became free of the MS and had regained the strength and energy I had lost so many years before.
Now, having been in official retirement for nearly 5 years, I’ve entered the world of writing more seriously. I’ve completed one book which is still unpublished. I’m presently editing my 2nd book, preparing for self-publishing once I have my website set up. The site will be based on informing people of healthy living choices and how to make the changes their lives require, along with telling them about the information they can find in my book and how to acquire it. To help me do it well, I’ve recently taken a short introductory course on self-publishing and web siting, which led me to sign up for the extended year long but at your own pace course.
So retirement? Even though I’ve been officially retired for nearly 5 years, I’ve got more energy now than I had for those 21 long years of MS. I’ve got too much work to do for physical retirement.
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Hi Diane! Wow! What a great comment/catch-up 🙂 You’ve definitely had a busy and productive life, even though you struggled with MS all those years. Your faith has obviously really helped to carry you through. I only went to Okanagan College (Diploma in Academic Arts) and then to UBC (Bachelor of Education, Secondary, with concentrations in Librarianship and Geography). The crazy part is that while I did do teaching and tutoring off and on, I ended up doing a lot of other things, through informal/personal learning as needed. Anyway … glad to hear your writing adventures are coming along! And that you have the energy you need for them 🙂 We really should get together for a visit one of these times, eh!
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I’ve hoped to go to the Okanagan for a holiday and wondered how I could and if I should contact you even though I didn’t know if you would remember me from high school. Sitting tight in Kimberley till at least spring is my present agenda while I finish getting everything I mentioned taken care of. In the meantime, if you make it out this way, let me know. I would love to visit.
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We don’t travel much in winter … but it would be fun to get together next spring or summer 🙂 We’re in Penticton!
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Hi Norma.
Having been in retirement for nearly 5 years, I’m finally writing a book. In the past, I’ve had a couple stories published in 2 local newsletters, wrote the monthly church newsletter for a year, wrote a weekly health editorial for a local newspaper plus organized and published a church group recipe book which was paid for by a successful fundraising campaign.
Before retirement, I’d been to college 3 times. First, I studied for entry into the world of fashion design. Specializing as a pattern maker, I was called to help various fashion designers in Vancouver. My 2nd bout of college trained me to work in the medical world as a nursing unit clerk.
By the age of 40, my life was seriously interrupted when I had to go on long term disability income due to challenges with Relapsing-Remitting MS. I then took the opportunity to enter my 3rd bout of college, studying holistic nutrition through correspondence so I could work at my own pace when I had the strength and energy to do so. As I learned, I applied everything to myself. With stress being an activator of MS relapses, I also studied methods of handling stress in a healthy, effective manner. During this time, my walk with my Lord and Saviour strengthened greatly. Fully relying on Him to guide me through life with MS became crucial. After 21 years of practicing my new and improved way of living, I became totally free of MS and re-gained the strength and energy I had lost so many years before.
Now, as I’m nearing 70, I’m thrilled to have re-entered the world of writing. With 1 book completed, I’m presently editing my 2nd book and will be self-publishing them together. They will also be available in audio form. My correlating website will help inform and encourage people to make healthy living choices along with telling them about the information they can find in my books and how to acquire them. To help me do it well, I’ve recently taken an introductory course on self-publishing and web siting, which inspired me to register for the extended option.
So retirement? Even though I’ve been officially retired for nearly 5 years, I’ve got more energy now than I had for those 21 long years of MS. I’ve got too much work to do for full retirement.
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Sorry. I didn’t see my original post so I did some editing before resending my comment. Now It’s double. Sorry about that. You can delete one and this comment.
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