Getting Out

The days plod along, one day after another. Routines dictate getting out of bed at 5, computer time until 7, then breakfast and shower and shave. The rest of the day is spent writing blogs and meeting with SCORE clients. Until there isn’t.

Isn’t another commitment for that day. And then the TV goes on and programs are watched until the inevitable snooze comes along.

Other duties include maintaining the calendar. What’s coming up, who is asking for a client session, what events are approaching, and what do family commitments look like. Bit by bit the calendar fills in.

Free time expands as age accumulates. What once kept me busy no longer does. Reading used to be my primary fill-in activity, but it is easier to watch TV and snooze than read.

Oh, I’ll get back to reading. Journals and work files mainly, but an occasional novel as well.

What seems to be missing are the outings to church, town and organization events. Pam is great at getting me out and about to church breakfasts, supper events and an occasional drive. Today is a lineup of errands and the church pancake breakfast. That will get me out and about. Meeting and interacting with people are the key. Just moving around is not. No, there has to be purpose to the activity.

Left to my own devices I suspect I would be much more bored than I am. This is why I maintain my duties with organizations. They keep me busy and engaged. That is good. It keeps me from being a couch potato.

Involvement. Purpose. Interests. Hobbies. Travel. These should occupy the retired person’s time and focus. It is the one large discovery I have made in retirement. And yet I knew that all along. It is logical. And it is valuable activity for the community that retirees be engaged in activity. Good for them in the main. But also, for the community.

Getting out is the aim. Planning for it is required. Being open to it is a must.

See you soon someplace?

September 11, 2024

 

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