Retirement…. morphing into a second career….
So how is retirement going … a year later??? Who’s retired? Â 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! Â 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, Â you would think I wouldn’t have time to “work” or be active professionally. Â But I have! Â In the past year, I was able to get a contract with the local army base to tutor in their after school program. Â 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. Â 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. Â 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. Â I also e-published the children’s book ( Chipper Kicks a Bully ) Â 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!! Â 🙂
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