Retirement…. morphing into a second career….

So how is retirement going … a year later??? Who’s retired?  I’ve often heard senior citizens say that they are too busy to work, and now I understand what they mean. This past year has been very different from all the years I worked, but somehow I still feel very vital, alive, and BUSY!  From the constant house repairs which have literally put me in bankruptcy, to taking care of my mother’s doctor appointments and my own appointments, and keeping my grandchildren busy,  you would think I wouldn’t have time to “work” or be active professionally.  But I have!  In the past year, I was able to get a contract with the local army base to tutor in their after school program.  This included getting a security clearance, and taking a few classes, and took a year for it all to work, but I am now an “independent contractor”. In addition, I have been on the Board of Education of a local parochial school, and am volunteering at the local Boys & Girls Club.  Both of these volunteer activities make me keep my hand in the professional world as they are developing STEM programs.

But the beauty of it all is that I can juggle all this and still have time for an occasional afternoon nap when needed. I’ve also been able to meet with other retirees for lunch on a regular or as needed basis.  For a while this past summer, I struggled with boredom while the grandkids were staying with their dad in another state. The tutoring was still “in the works” and the volunteering at Boys & Girls Club hadn’t started yet, so I used the time to soak up some quiet time and do lots of reading.  I also e-published the children’s book ( Chipper Kicks a Bully )  that I had been working on for quite some time.

Now retirement becomes a question of how to keep up the  juggling act.  I need to work on the marketing pieces for the consulting/contractor business as well as selling my books, and continue with my volunteer work as well as keeping those grandkids busy & Mom happy, so there will never be a dull moment. And the interesting thing is that my retired friends all have the same challenges– how to find a gap in their schedules to be able to meet for lunch!

Off & running to one of those lunches!!  🙂