Busy Retirees

If you are one of those people who is secretly wondering, “Should I retire? What will I do?” I cannot give you a definite answer, but I can tell you that many of the people I know who are retired are among the busiest and happiest people of all. Now that I think back at my own indecisiveness on this issue, I wonder what I was so worried about.

A friend once told me that if you did not do a hobby while you were working, you will not take up that hobby after you retire. I can honestly say that is true for me, but as a teacher, I had the summers off, so I had time to cultivate my hobbies. Now that I am retired, I just spend MORE time on the hobbies I’ve had all along. Other people I know have taken up golf, weaving, travel, and many other activities after they retired. Let’s just say that they branched off from things they already enjoyed.

Locally, I know many people who volunteer in the community. Some of their volunteer jobs include ushering at the theater, helping at the hospital by wheeling new mothers out to their cars, working in the ReStore for Habitat for Humanity, sitting on the boards of organizations, reading to children in the schools, and marshalling at golf events. I looked very carefully for a year before I chose my volunteer job, and it is my great pleasure to help out at a local branch of the public library.

Two of my friends moved to North Carolina. One volunteers by walking dogs for the animal shelter and his wife is a guide at an historic plantation. Furthering their lifelong hobbies, the husband has a three-car garage with a lift where he restores British motor cars, and the wife has a well-thought-out sewing room where she creates fiber art. She also has a part-time job as a weaving demonstrator at the plantation and volunteers at a local thrift shop.


A retired businessman friend of ours had a vineyard for many years. Now in his eighties, he has sold the vineyard but continues to experiment with strains of native grapes in connection with a botany professor at a nearby university.

In Florida, I met many people who ran the groups and organizations for our condo community and some people who volunteered at local thrift shops which raised money for charities. Our exercise class teacher leads us as a volunteer three times a week! My beloved watercolor class is taught by a professional artist in his eighties who volunteers his services. He also spends one day a week volunteering at a local hospital. He paints watercolor portraits of patients which he then gives to them. What a gift!



A retired architect whom I met through my art class not only paints remarkably detailed paintings of photos taken on world travels but also grows exquisite orchids on his screened-in porch.



On top of all this are the retired people who are lucky enough to live close to their grandchildren and act as both chauffeurs and babysitters when needed. Countless hours are also clocked by quite a few of my friends in church organizations that touch the lives of many with their help.

So, if you are thinking about retirement, the above are some ideas of what other people do. It’s true that certain careers carry some status, and your identity may be connected to your profession. Yet there is so much more to do beyond work. And, generally, when you lose the paycheck, you lose the pressure.

What keeps you busy in retirement, or what do you dream of doing?