Relive Your Youth? No. Up Your Game.

By Karen and Erica

Did you catch the story in the Wall Street Journal about the doctor who decided, after he retired, to go back to being a lifeguard on the beach where he had been a lifeguard fifty years before? He was told he would get the job if he passed the lifeguard test. Game on! He began by working out and changing his diet. He dropped 35 pounds, became fit, passed the test. And he looks splendid! (Pix here!) He got the job, and now he has to keep reminding his much younger colleagues that he is older, not dead. He can do anything they can do.

It’s a fun story, with a happy ending. And that’s why we are reporting on it. You may not want to be a lifeguard after you retire, indeed you may want to do nothing. But, if something cool interests you, like opening an inn, even if it seems a bit of a stretch, put your mind (and body) to it, and you will succeed. Why? Because you have succeeded for decades. You know how to succeed.

Worried because you are not sure where you are headed? Don’t let that stop you. We didn't!  We really wanted to figure out how to change the image of, and opportunities for, retired career women. Once we set that goal, we started moving forward, relying heavily on the technical advice of much younger people.

We decided we needed a website or a blog—we didn't even know the right nomenclature—so we figured it out, with our new colleagues. Like that doctor, we had to learn lots of new things (in his case new surf rescue boards), and we had to work pretty hard, but that was part of the fun. We returned to that blissful state, lost on the young, of being students. But students who knew something about life and the world.

We often thought we might be crazy, and feared we would likely fail. We didn't fail. We succeeded—thanks to all of you! We had fun getting here, and we are still having fun as we consider how to expand the mission. 

Let us know what your goal is, and how you are moving toward it. If you really want to do something ambitious, you will succeed! And the journey will be grand.