“Don’t simply retire from something;
have something to retire to.”

— Harry Emerson Fosdick

Have you ever said….’When I ……’

• Graduate
• Marry
• Have children
• Become an empty-nester
• Have this amount of money saved
• Sell my house
• Pay off my mortgage
• Take a vacation

• Retire……  ??????

Have you ever spoken about a time when you will have arrived at a place where the need to move, contribute, shoulder a responsibility, and navigate a perpetual series of life changes, and challenges has quieted? Have you dreamed for, planned for, or aspired to land on an island of fewer responsibilities where you can settle back for a while?

Or, have you discovered — like me — that the need to rise each day and wade into the stream of life (sometimes a quiet tributary or a patch of white-water rapids) never abates.

I am nearing a significant birthday. I will reach the ripe ‘young’ age of sixty-five before the end of the year. It does not feel or look like I imagined. 

I have complied with the enrollment into the Medicare system. I appreciate the reduced insurance costs. I am investigating how to approach social security. But I am not planning to stop working or looking for meaningful ways to contribute.

I have watched friends, colleagues, and clients pass over the threshold of their retirement age and have witnessed their reinvention of themselves. One friend shuns the word retirement and is pursuing a lifelong avocation made into a vocation.

I am grateful that there are fewer rules and norms about this phase of life.

Will I encounter ageism? Sure. But it will be just one more ‘ism’ to traverse.

This morning, while reading a client’s LinkedIn post, I learned that I am joining the mob of the unretired. There is now a trend of Boomers who are not ready or prepared to move to the sidelines, golf courses, or leather recliners.

I have a hunch we are a growing group of individuals who learned early on to “When you do what you love, it doesn’t feel like work.”

Are you one of the new unretired? Or soon will be one?

How are you playing out this chapter of your life?

Share your stories with me.  

I am not much of a joiner. I prefer to be a convener and quietly stand up for things I believe in. However, you might see me leading the parade for the unretired.

There is much to learn and more to give.

My colleague’s data points also shared that as a woman, I will live longer than my male counter parts. I have a good 20 years more of ‘get up and go’ if I focus on my physical and mental well-being.

I may have a full head of silver hair but I started life as a platinum blond and have simply returned to my original hair color. 

I look forward to joining teams of individuals from every generation and background. If I were an athlete I would be yelling, “Put me in Coach!”

Reimagined, unretired, and ready to be of service. That maybe just be my next tattoo! Or at least a bumper sticker.

Leslie

“I might be the Unretired, but I am not the “Undead”
Not a zombie princess, yet.”

—Leslie