If you have followed my blog for very long, you know that fall, or more delicately called autumn, is my favorite season. I want to indulge my senses with the textures, aromas, foods and colors that feed my soul during this time of year. One of our favorite fall traditions is going to Green Bluff. Green Bluff is a community of farmers that cooperate and share their efforts to promote sustainable farming. There are approximately 30 member farms that are all owned and operated independently. These are their personal homes, but they open their farms to the public for you-picks and festivities throughout the year. Each has a unique offering of produce, food, gifts and things to do. A couple weeks ago, on a perfect sunny fall day, we jumped in the convertible and drove to Green Bluff to spend a leisurely afternoon.
Below is a map of the farms and produce stands at Green Bluff.
There is an abundance of fresh produce, with apples and pumpkins taking center stage.
First on the list was picking a few apples, just for the experience of it. We have access to my dad’s apple tree too, but you simply have to pick a few apples while you are there. Mr. U was happy because the plums were also ripe, so we got a few of those as well. We don’t typically buy any of their pumpkins, gourds or vegetables because Mr. U grows them in his garden, but it is still delightful to look at them. Of course I HAVE to have the fresh pumpkin doughnuts. I look forward to them all year long. Sorry, I did not get a picture of them because, well… you know. They had to be eaten quickly while they were still warm.
Each farm has its own unique flair.
Towards the end of the afternoon, the sun was getting low, and we were parched. Time for our final destination at Green Bluff… the Big Barn Brewery. It is a delightful little brewery with a low-key, relaxed vibe. They have a large yard where you can pull up a chair and listen to music while you sip their beer that is brewed on site.
Thanks for joining me on a beautiful autumn afternoon. Be sure to take the time to indulge in fall y’all! It is coming to an end all too quickly.
By the time most people retire, they are burned out. Tired of the office politics, tired of answering to someone else, and tired of not having enough time to do what they like. Once they have met that golden retirement number, they are more than ready to leave the workforce. Others are forced into an early retirement due to downsizing, or retirement packages that are too tempting to pass up. Either way, they are out the office door and abruptly land in a whole new lifestyle labeled… retirement. Not unlike Alice in Wonderland who found herself in an unfamiliar world, the retirement lifestyle is unfamiliar and requires a huge adjustment, particularly if you enjoyed your work.
Reverse retirement is a new term for people that have retired and then decided to return to work. After the euphoria of retirement freedom wears off, many people wonder, what next? Are they still relevant? They miss the comradery, socialization and gratification that is built into the workday. If there are so many advantages to work, why even retire? Or better yet, why not return to work on your own terms? Why not enjoy the best of both worlds – work & retirement? The two terms do not need to be mutually exclusive. I think it depends on why you work and how much. So maybe we should not throw the baby out with the bathwater. What if we could take the better parts of work and leave the rest? What if it did not even feel like work anymore? What if we could do reverse retirement?
I know several retirees who have found the perfect blend of part-time work in retirement. I have a friend that teaches a couple on-line college courses, another that substitutes teaches and one that was a school bus driver. My good friend’s husband is a chef, and he still fills in one day a week. He also teaches a CPR course once a month. I know several other retirees that sell their artwork. My dad continued to work part-time in the business he founded until he was in his 90’s. The possibilities are endless.
According to a study by the Federal Reserve Board, one-third of retirees return to work, either full or part-time (New Retirement). Interestingly, the highest and lowest income groups are the two that are the most likely to return to work after retiring. Not a surprise for the lower income group that typically find they need more money to live on in retirement, but why the higher income group that do not need more income to enjoy their retirement? Is retirement not all that it is cracked up to be? If it is not the income, what draws people back to work?
Why do retirees leave the freedom of retirement to return to the grind?
The most obvious is money. If you want to be able to enjoy your retirement and play a little, it will take some money. Not necessarily a lot, but enough to do the things you dreamed of. Hobbies take money, travel takes money, and the house is still going to need repairs and updating every so often.
Some people wilt without the structure of a job. They need a reason to get up in the morning and get in the shower. Retirement does not force structure; you have to create it and then you have to actually do it… over and over again until it becomes a routine. Until it gives your days a common structure.
Employment offers a built-in social network. You may not have had good friends at work, but you still had people to talk to and carry on a casual conversation with, even if it was just to complain about the weather. If you do not deliberately build a social network into your retirement, most likely you will get a little lonely. We all need people and social interaction. Some more than others, but the fact is, people need people. That became very evident during the lock-down with the pandemic.
Many people miss the feeling of engagement and gratification. They want to use their talents and skills, and work is the ideal way to do that. Whether you like your work or not, it did force you to be engaged with life. It got you moving and part of the world outside your own four walls. Instead of letting your talents get rusty, you are out sharpening them again and that is rewarding.
Some people are just plain bored in retirement. They are bored with themselves, they are bored with their spouse, and they are bored with their lackluster lives. Working brings new energy to their lives again.
Mr. U’s reverse retirement
Mr. U starting his workday. Note that smile on his face.
Everyone jokes that Mr. U failed retirement from the beginning. He was a high school principal for over 25 years before retiring. It was a demanding job, but he loved it. However, like all of us, he got tired of the politics, long hours, endless meetings and stress. It really does not benefit you financially to continue to work once you reach the state retirement pension age, so he decided to retire when he reached that golden rule. Within a couple months after he retired, the opportunity arose to be a mentor/administrator at a private school. After doing that for several years, he retired fully. However, he quickly became dissatisfied with full-time retirement. He felt like he had done everything he wanted to in the field of education and did not want to return to it. But he still missed the engagement and satisfaction of working with people.
Step back over 40 years ago when Mr. U drove school bus part-time while going to college. He loved that job and throughout his entire career, he referred to it as the GOAT (greatest of all time) job. He had always envisioned doing something similar to that in retirement. So last winter, after watching one too many crime shows on T.V., he decided to apply for a part-time position driving a commuter van for a high-end resort in our small city. He has been doing it for several months now and loves it! He enjoys the engagement with people, the fun of getting tips and he particularly likes NOT being the boss and decision maker. There are about 15 van drivers, and they laugh because they all look alike: retirees in their 60’s & 70’s with gray hair and goatees.
Mr. U is thoroughly enjoying his reverse retirement job. It utilizes his talent with people, and he only works 2-3 days/week. He still has to plan ahead to request time off, but the drivers are not limited to a certain number of vacation days per year. A couple of the drivers even take the winter months off to fly south. As long as they request the time off at least a week ahead, they always honor the request. This is wise if you are tapping into the retirement workforce pool.
Conclusion
Most people don’t want to step out of life when they retire. We want to stay engaged, active and socially connected. It is human nature. I think a lot more retirees would reverse retirement and work part-time if they could find a job that they enjoyed and that blended well with their life. It is the commitment of a schedule, limited vacation days and having to request time off that causes most of us to choose not to work. It is one reason many retirees volunteer instead of doing paid employment. Perhaps companies would be wise to tap into this underused employee pool and find unique ways to attract retirees. To borrow an old work term, reverse retirement could be a win/win.
The beauty of it is, in retirement, we get to decide if we want to work. That is, assuming you planned your finances well. Would I still work part-time if the right position presented itself? It is unlikely, as I don’t feel like I have enough time as it is, but never say never. Would you?
Happy first day of fall! Every season has its wonders. The first soft snowfall of winter, the emerging colors and flowers of spring, lazy summer afternoons by the lake as the sun sets, and then… there is fall. Or, as I prefer to call it, Autumn. Autumn casts a quiet magic that tells us to stop and take a break. Breathe in the crisp air. Let the foggy mornings wrap around you. The deep golds, faded reds and muted shades of brown calm your soul. While spring is expectant, autumn is contemplative. I like contemplative. Autumn has a touch of magic to it.
Top 10 things I love about autumn:
Making soup again. Sure, you can make it in the summer, but that is just wrong. Soup is a fall/winter comfort food. The best thing about soup is that it can simmer for hours, releasing aromas that make your house feel warm and cozy. Bonus if you have warm homemade bread to go with it.
Fall festivals and markets. Celebrate the change of season with others by attending a fall market or Oktoberfest. Think pumpkins, hay bales, corn stalks, fresh squeezed apple juice, and festive music to go with it. Just last night we attended a fall party at a favorite local brewery. Great music, beer and company.
Fall music party at a favorite brewery last night (left). Mr. U in Gatlinburg last fall (right).
Pumpkin everything (to borrow an overused cliche). I know that you can buy canned pumpkin any time of the year, but there is just something about warm pumpkin bread in the fall. Every autumn we try to make a trip to a group of family-owned farms and get pumpkin doughnuts hot off the press. Sooo good! I am anxious to try a new recipe for pumpkin snickerdoodles. Pumpkins and snickerdoodles sound like a pretty decadent combo to me.
Football. I did not grow up loving football, but I learned to enjoy it through osmosis. With a spouse that loves sports and four sons that all played football, I had no choice but to join in or be left behind. Now I have a decent understanding of the game and can appreciate what it contributes to the feeling of fall. It is especially fun when your grandson is playing, and his sister is one of the cheerleaders.
Being outdoors in the crisp sunshine collecting autumnRoadsidea. Take a walk and kick up some leaves. Breathe in the scents of autumn. Bring the vibrant colors and textures inside by gathering acorns, chestnuts, pinecones and colorful leaves to create a fall tablescape. One of my favorite rituals for fall is to gather these items to decorate for autumn inside and out.
A few items harvested from the garden and acorns gathered as “roadsidea” to decorate the entry table. I made “Simon #1” years ago.
Fall decorating. I made the upcycled pumpkins from old sweaters. Post here.
The autumn garden. Gardens are fabulous most of the year, but there is nothing better than the garden in the fall. The colors are vibrant and there is a quiet, calm in the shadows that tells you the work of watering and weeding is over. It is time to reap the last of the harvest. Pumpkins, gourds, sunflowers and corn stalks waiting to be gathered for the porch.
Pictures compliments of Mr. U’s garden.
Fires and candlelight. Who doesn’t love pulling up to a cozy warm fire on a chilly day. We have a wood burning fireplace in our living room, which is one of the delights of winter. (Fortunately, we have an easy source for wood because son #2 co-owns a business that has wood trim ends as a by-product.) And then there are the fall slash fires outside. Nothing beats the sound of a crackling fire, but when we don’t have several hours to enjoy a real fire, we will light our gas fire pit outside. It begs you to sit and enjoy the last dregs of summer. It whispers of quiet fall evenings before the snow starts to fly. It is literally, the calm before the storm of winter sets in. September also commences the “bring on the candles” months.
A gas fire is a great way to spend a few autumn hours when it is still too dry for an outdoor fire.
Sweata Weatha. Personally, I could stay in shorts, t-shirts and flip flops all year long. It feels suffocating when I put on that first pair of long pants. But once I succumb, it is fun to bring out all of the comfy fall clothes. It is like meeting up with old friends again. One of my favorite clothing items are my beautiful, comfy wool socks that my dear friend makes for me. They are like wrapping your feet in a warm blanket of love.
Autumn travel. As much as I love being home to experience autumn, traveling this time of year feels mystical. It is also much less crowded after Labor Day and prices are more reasonable. When we travel in the fall, we try to choose places that are an autumn experience. Our top favorites have been leaf peeping in Vermont, the Great Smokey Mountains in Tennessee, and most recently, the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. All three of these lovely places were named in Country Living as the Best Fall Towns in the US for Foliage — Fall Foliage in the US (countryliving.com)
One of the many covered bridges we got to see on our trip to Vermont several years ago.
Apple harvest. It is so disappointing to bite into a soft apple. They need to be crisp, fresh and flavorful. Sure, you can get waxy apples all year long, but they are the absolute best in the fall picked right off of the tree. It is part of living by the seasons. Apples grow abundantly in our neck of the woods. My dad has a couple of apple trees on his property, so it is always an event to gather together to pick apples.
Mr. U with a robust apple harvest (left). The picture on the right is from DIL #2 and their beautiful apple harvest this year.
Happy fall y’all
The full on colorful, lovely crisp autumn days do not last long. In a blink of an eye, the frost settles over the garden and the weatherman forecasts snow. So, take time to revel in the beauty and wonders of this season made for the senses. Indulge yourself fully in the magic of autumn.
I am back from my month long “blogcation.” I really needed to take the month of August to have a reset. It has been a bumpy summer. It started with Mr. U and I both getting COVID. Then there were a lot of projects that I didn’t particularly enjoy or want to do, fulfilling responsibilities, and some health scares. By the of end of July my bike was gathering dust in the garage, I only had my kayak on the water a handful of times, and we still had not unwinterized our camper. Suffice it to say… I was not living my best retirement life. And lingering in the back of my mind was that nagging question… how many more summers do I have left? I can’t afford to miss even one. Do you ever worry about that, or is it just me?
I decided I needed to salvage what little bit of summer I had left. It was time to make a point of living my best life, right now, despite the challenges. My best retirement life is not expensive or glamorous. Aside from some travel, it is pretty simple really. In the summer, my best retirement life is:
going out to the garden to pick fresh vegetables and herbs for dinner or a colorful bouquet of flowers to liven up the kitchen counter.
a leisurely afternoon kayaking with a friend.
a picnic dinner out on the boat watching the eagles soar.
taking the four wheelers into the mountains to pick huckleberries.
dining al fresco… bonus if it is by the water.
that first steaming cup of coffee in the morning when you are camping.
late morning bike rides armed with a pack lunch and journal.
a lingering afternoon on the water with my family, followed by the smell of the B.B.Q. being fired up.
feeling the unfettered joy of being with my grands.
laughter gathered around the fire pit.
quiet conversations as the sun sets behind the mountain on another summer day.
It was the end of July, and I was starting to feel like a caged animal that had not been outdoors enough – pacing and anxious to feel the sun on my shoulders and the gentle ripple of water under my paddle. So, to kick off taking my summer back, a friend and I loaded up the kayaks and headed to the river for an afternoon on the water. It was just what my soul needed. Towards the end of the afternoon as the sun was getting low, we tucked our kayaks into the reeds away from the waves of passing boats and poured a glass of chilled white wine. A ski boat drifted by and one of the beautiful young ladies waved at us and yelled, “I want to be like you two someday!” And at that moment, I realized, this is it. I am living my best life. I just needed to pull back and carve out some time for it.
Kayaking the Coeur d’Alene River with my beautiful friend (left).
During my “blogcation” I cut down on social media and screen time. I spent mornings with a cup of coffee reflecting. How did I get away from living my best life and how do I make sure that I don’t let the weightier things in life keep me from finding the joy and beauty in every single day? How do I peacefully blend the responsibilities of life with enough time and energy for play? I had to rethink my priorities and what I wanted my life to look like. And while the blog break was nice, I also missed writing.
I pondered how/if writing my blog fit into my best life. What I noticed was that when I did not blog, I spent a lot more time writing in my journal. I guess some people just need to spill their thoughts on to a page. I concluded that writing and taking photos for this blog are part of my best retirement life right now. The challenge was the commitment to post every Monday. I have tried to stay consistent with that, because that is what the social media gurus tell you to do. However, the intent of this blog was never to make me rich or famous, so what do I care about blog rules? Heck, I can post when the muse hits and not post when I am having a super busy week. The shake down is that you may find my blog posts a little less consistent. They may be less or even more than once a week and they may not always show up on Mondays. They may include short blurbs or long rants. I hope that you will stick with me through it and if you want to be notified via email when a post comes out, please sign up for my newsletter.
How peculiar that, even in retirement, we can get so bogged down with the worries and responsibilities of life, that we forget to live our best life. As the old saying goes, “if not now, when?” What does your best life look like and are you making the time and effort to live it, or are you just drifting by?
Summer is morning coffee out on the patio, lazy afternoons in the water and watching the sun bid goodnight as it sets behind the mountains for another day. But it is also watering plants, deadheading flowers, weeding the garden and sweeping up dirt that was tracked inside. The rhythm of the seasons gives life texture. While I complain about our long winters, I really do enjoy the character of the four seasons. Fall might be my favorite, but summer comes in a close second because there are so many fun things to do. Since we were busy enjoying summer and family last week, I did not take time out to write. So instead of writing a post, I am sharing my favorite things to do in the summer, via photos. A photo is worth a thousand words anyway, right?
Summer always kicks off for us with fireworks over the lake.Time out on the water.
Always time on the water. One of my favorite places to be.
B.B.Q baby! No herbivores here. Bounty from the garden.
Outdoor summer concerts. Bonus if they are free. This Motown band was so good!
Camping up in the mountains.
Precious time with my family. It makes my mother heart sing.
Being out on my bike and kayaking. It helps compensate for all the yummy summer food.
And the sun sets on another summer day.
We have to stuff all of the fun summer activities into the short 2-3 months of warm weather that we get here in the PNW. But perhaps that makes it all the more precious. Do you have any “must do’s” for summer?
Lover of flip flops, waking up without an alarm, fireside chats, street tacos, waves lapping up on shore, creativity, family, the cork and all things garlic.
