The turkey is stuffed and in the oven. The table is set, and the football game is on. When the kids were little, I always placed three kernels of Indian corn on each plate. Before we ate, we went around the table and shared three things we were thankful for the past year. While they rolled their eyes when they sat down and saw the three little corn kernels sitting between them and the feast, I think they also appreciated it. One of the first Thanksgivings that son #1 was away from home and cooking himself, he sent me a picture of one of their plates with three corn kernels on it. It is the little things that make a mother heart stop.
Three kernels of corn to represent three things I am thankful for this year.
Family was always at the top of everyone’s list. So, in keeping with the corn kernel tradition, I am sharing three things I am thankful for this year.
Family. Duh – it is on the top of the list every year.
Health. As we get older, we come to appreciate this even more.
You. I appreciate your sticking with me through my musings on retirement life that I share in this blog.
So happy Thanksgiving to you dear reader. And a belated happy Thanksgiving to those of you in Canada who celebrated last month. I am grateful that you are willing to take some of your precious time to read my humble little blog and share comments. Have a wonderful day enjoying friends, family and lots of nap inducing food!
Here in the Northwest, we don’t just eat turkeys, we frequently have to wait for them to cross the road. Sometimes I feel like we have more turkeys than people. Or perhaps there are just getting to be more people that act like turkeys. I get confused.
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?
We all need a break from the routine and commitments of life, even in retirement. Similar to how kids and parents look forward to the freedom that summer break brings – liberation from the schedule constraints of school and the extracurricular activities. I have been writing a blog post every week for the past two years. The very first post was published in July 2022 with the title What next? I write to capture life in retirement, hopefully inspire others on this journey and to remind myself of the things I need to hear. It has been a pleasure, but it has also been a commitment. Granted, just a commitment I made to myself that I enjoy, but a commitment none the less.
I admire bloggers who have been writing for years. Writing a post and coordinating photos to go with it takes a lot of time. I love doing it, but sometimes it takes away from living the very retirement life that I planned on. So, I am giving myself a “blogcation,” for the month of August. It will allow me some extra time to get a few projects done that I have been putting off, enjoy some play time and a chance to reprioritize how I want to spend these precious retirement years.
If you would like to be notified via email so you know when my next post comes out, please sign up for my newsletter. It isn’t really a newsletter; you just get an email letting you know when a new post is out. No advertising or other junk, I promise. I will also try to post a little more on Instagram if you would like to follow along there at: theretiredalchemist. The IG link is also on my blog home page.
Happy Father’s Day to all of the classy dads out there! To all of the dads that have loved and sacrificed to build solid families, and to all of the stepdads who took in their spouse’s children like their own. The world is a much better place because of you. I know several hard working, kind, generous, loving dads that I am so blessed to have in my immediate family.
Every Father’s Day weekend, a small city in North Idaho celebrates by having an old car show and parade. The weekend event is called Car d’ Lane, which is a take-off from the city’s name, Coeur d’Alene. The show draws old car owners (no pun intended) from all over the PNW. Any car or truck can be entered in the parade provided it is 40 years or older. We set up our camp chairs on the sidewalk and watched the parade of cars and trucks on Friday night. My dad had a perpetual smile on his face as the cars drove by and reminded him of his younger days. It was a time when cars had more character and class… and white wall tires.
Does anybody remember riding in the family station wagon? I grew up with five other siblings, so we definitely had a station wagon in the 60’s. They were big enough to hold the entire family and the kitchen sink. What is a seatbelt??? After the station wagon, we got the middle-class icon, a family van.
I think the cars that brought the most nostalgia for me were the “muscle cars” of the 60’s and 70’s. Guys would spend their hard-earned cash fixing their cars up with colorful paint jobs, detailed pin striping, wide tires, headers, loud exhaust pipes and fake fur strategically placed under the back window. I had a 1967 vinyl top Mustang, that worked about half of the time. It was pee green, similar to the one in the photo below. Mr. U drove a much classier 1969 Dodge Charger. It was bright yellow and swooped up. My parents would joke that they could hear him coming to pick me up on a date about two miles before he came around the corner to our house. Oh, how we wish we had those two cars again!
Yep, I miss the good ole “muscle car” days when we would cruise down main street for several laps and then stop at Pappy’s Pizza to chat with friends, and everyone would pitch in their last dollar to get a pizza to share. Back when gas was .59 cents/gallon.
The car show had quite a few other unique cars and trucks that shot fire from their exhaust and did fancy tricks with their hydraulics.
Did anyone else have a cool “muscle car” that you wish you still owned, or a car that brings back lots of memories?
Happy Mother’s Day to all of the mom’s out there! To all of the mothers that sacrificed, gave when the well was dry and shed worried tears of blood. It made a difference, and the world is better because you are a mother that cares.
“Being a mother is learning about strengths you didn’t know you had, and dealing with fears you didn’t know existed.”
Linda Wooten
Then, at some unexpected point in life, it all comes to fruition, and you realize that you are blessed beyond what you ever gave.
So grateful to call these four amazing guys my sons.
I am sending virtual hugs to all of those that have lost their mom and cannot hug her today.
Happy Mother’s Day to my mom in heaven. I miss you every day.
“All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.”
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.
