Just Retired? No, This Need Not Be Your Future.
By Karen and Erica
Are you among the many people whose last official day at work was December 31, 2022? Were you dreading that day? Looking forward to it? Did you enjoy your party, where everyone toasted you, and said they wished they were in your shoes, and asked you about all the fun stuff you were going to do. Cheers!
Now that it has been a month, do you find yourself in an unexpected place? A place where people seem to think you are not who you were a month ago? Do you suspect, when they offer congratulations after you say I just retired, that they don’t mean it ? Are you wondering whether you are lost in space?
Don’t panic. Yes, everything has changed, and for a while you might find your post-career status unnerving. You will have to go through some stages before you realize that you really are in an exciting new world where you can decide what’s next. Mostly.
So what’s going on?
What’s going on is that a lot of people on the planet think that retirement is still the way it was in the 1950s. Back then, most of the people retiring from decades-long jobs were men, and they were tired. They had lived and worked through a depression and two world wars. Their wives were pretty tired too. Their life expectancy was pretty short—a few years. They were pleased to spend their last few golden years together, with other retirees, in a sunny place, playing golf and having fun, and driving around on the new highways, with a new car.
Everything has changed since then. The women in the first large wave who worked for decades at demanding careers outside the home are retiring. They have a thirty year runway. Perhaps because they had to fight to get a seat at the table, they are not ready to be sidelined just because their career ended. They want to stay connected, and they want purpose. They might not want full time jobs, but they do want to use their distilled experience in a meaningful way.
They know who they are and what they want, but few others do. They are masked by images of 1950s retirees that just won’t go away. And if they are women, retirement is age-linked, so they are immediately seen as little old ladies the moment they retire.
We need to change the picture. We’re new. We’re different. We will be around for decades. We have a lot to offer. We are determined to stay in the mix. We are not the least bit interested in spending the rest of our lives in rocking chairs.
Now that you have retired, join us! Together, we can expand the vision of retirement. We can work in new ways, keep connected with those coming up the ladder, and do all kinds of things we never had time to do before. Your future is yours to shape in this new era.
When you are ready, start thinking about where your past accomplishments will lead. Get excited. And start moving forward. Congratulations!
I am an attorney who is preparing for retirement- June 2025. Not looking for the rocking chair life either. Already setting up for part time work and a lot more travel. Love your articles ❤️
I retired five years ago. I had worked in high levels of city government and created a very successful company specializing in planning and public policy research. My work was exciting – a new challenge presented with each new client and public policy issue to explore. I spent the last two years of my working life gradually slowing down, letting clients go, one by one, until there was finally only one more project to complete. I thought that would make it easy to retire. It didn’t. The first year was hard. But then I started to add new experiences: a new Board position, a new dance class, more time with girlfriends, thrice-weekly gym sessions, more time spent with my husband at our place in the mountains. After COVID restrictions lifted my husband and I added travel back into our itinerary. We took each of our grandchildren to visit the National Park of their choice; we flew to cities all over America for "three days in" visits; and over a period of 18 months we traveled to thirteen countries. At 72, I now feel more grounded, extremely grateful, and more alive than ever before.
That is awesome!
I love this new mindset! I just hit the retirement stage, Medicare, the whole thing. But I am so excited because I too believe if we can fog a mirror, we still have purpose. It would be a sin to take all of our wisdom, experiences, and passion and put it under a bushel (or in a rocking chair). I am currently writing a book about Purpose and my target audience is women of our age. Cheers! Pam Leone
Great write up! I’m back at work again for a few more years – I wasn’t ready to hang it all up yet (not with the current mindset), but I know I’ll be ‘there’ again and ready to help reshape life going forward. Life is a wonderful long journey and we woman want will make the most of it!!!
Laurie, what a wonderful inspiring post. We wonder whether you might consider adding to the Lustre List (on Lustre) some tips and recommendations about where to go, what to do, where to stay, etc. If you haven’t checked it out already, the List is a where women like us can share what we like to do. We all ask our friends for recommendations…this is like having more friends in more places–in the US and around the world–to ask. It would be great if you could share some of your favorites from your travels. Which sound amazing!
Very inspiring post…
Thank you …
Anne Porter
I retired a year ago after a long retail career. It was the best decision I have ever made. It wasn’t easy, especially since my job was so social, but I’m all good now and moving forward!
I have been in the Fire Service 42 years with the last 20 years in Executive Management. As you can imagine every day is a new day. I am preparing to retire in about a year. I truly enjoy my team and my work but eventually it’s time to move on and slow down.
I am truly looking forward to seeing my vegetable garden more than on the weekends, join pilates group, catching up on my reading (as there is an art to doing nothing!), traveling and spending more time with friends already retired. My husband passed nearly 14 years ago so working has been good for me. I hope I slide into with grace ad courage!
Barbara Vinton
Retiring after 35 years in stressful insurance environment. Have already been in training for some volunteering and have planned some trips. I also am a widow and navigating this journey myself with support of kids and friends. I think looking for part time work in the future is a strong possibility
I love all of your articles, love the structure of this site, love the overarching message about defining retirement.
I am 63 and married to a 70 year old who is thriving in retirement – living his best life. I wasn’t quite ready to leave the workforce but my employer wouldn’t allow me to work remote full time. Being thrusted into early retirement 6 months ago is forcing me to make decisions about what the heck to do: seek employment? Contact work? Volunteer?
I’m really struggling with identity issues after living a life of getting my self esteem through work and making money. I know this is a process – I’m just in the thick of it right now. I do; however, feel encouraged with your postings.