ON RETIREMENT

http://www.etheldrayton-craig.com/

In the late hours of the night, my girlfriend sent me an email that caused me to pause and think about her words. We had been having fun all week going back and forth critiquing a celebrity’s fashion like we were opposing television critics, laughing ourselves to tears in the process.

Then she sent me an email that got us talking about grandchildren and how she is surrounded by members of her new community who are fully engaged in activities with grandchildren. With a successful son into his second year of a fast-track career, she is not there yet.

Retirement offers people many options of which being a grandparent can be a natural and rewarding feature. However, reading her email made me realize the social pressure people can feel to become grandparents.

The wonderful thing about growing older today is that people who have lived fulfilled lives are able to recreate themselves and not fit into pre-set molds if they don’t want to. Be it second or third careers, volunteerism, entrepreneurship, distance learning, hobby groups, dance groups, and travel, to name a few, the field of options is wide.

For those who are nearing retirement, selecting a few interesting biographies of people who have done amazing things well into their nineties will inspire you and be grist for the mill to create your unique and personally rewarding activities during retirement years.

Dr. Ethel Drayton-Craig