Dear Babyboomers
"It's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years"......Abraham Lincoln. How true at this time of our lives. Since I have been exploring the concept of "Secrets of Successful Retirement", and sharing it with you, retirement has taken on a more positive note. Instead of feeling like a 'has been' there has been a shift towards making the years count. Whatever that means to you, to me or to others.
Listing a few concepts gathered so far, to make the years count.
7/3/10 - One is project - replacing the idea/concept of goal setting, which doesn't really work when you are changing pace and direction - better to have projects which enable us to have something to work towards, to feel engaged in, to feel excited about.
The other from your statement is....... "taking me out to places', which is also the philosophy of getting out there and doing rather than being a passive observer which can tend to happen. Whether or not, the places are distant and foreign, or near but on a deeper level, is immaterial. The important element is exploring new horizons
9/3/10 - "Yet", what a great word. Three little letters that mean so much more...at a future time. I think YET should be added to our COG - Crazy Ole Women, list of words. It's the perfect word for a retired boomer...your extra time, your excellent time. It allows one to still have time to realise ambitions, dreams, unfulfilled desires
13/3/10 It seems that I have become an old model rather than a role model. Invisible to most everyone. And yet it is this invisible cloak that has liberated me. I can spend an entire day absorbed in my work without even a glance in the mirror. For me the blueprint to retirement is not to retire. I plan to spend every precious moment creating, designing, reading, recording, expanding.
Which seems to be a good time to show what 'Not retiring means to Renotta. Love your beautiful hat. Why don't we bring back more hats, Babyboomer Women? Why don't we all decide to wear an 'image enhancing hat' this week whilst we are stranded between seasons. We would love to hear your ideas on making the years count.
Cheers Clara
7/3/10 - One is project - replacing the idea/concept of goal setting, which doesn't really work when you are changing pace and direction - better to have projects which enable us to have something to work towards, to feel engaged in, to feel excited about.
The other from your statement is....... "taking me out to places', which is also the philosophy of getting out there and doing rather than being a passive observer which can tend to happen. Whether or not, the places are distant and foreign, or near but on a deeper level, is immaterial. The important element is exploring new horizons
9/3/10 - "Yet", what a great word. Three little letters that mean so much more...at a future time. I think YET should be added to our COG - Crazy Ole Women, list of words. It's the perfect word for a retired boomer...your extra time, your excellent time. It allows one to still have time to realise ambitions, dreams, unfulfilled desires
13/3/10 It seems that I have become an old model rather than a role model. Invisible to most everyone. And yet it is this invisible cloak that has liberated me. I can spend an entire day absorbed in my work without even a glance in the mirror. For me the blueprint to retirement is not to retire. I plan to spend every precious moment creating, designing, reading, recording, expanding.
Which seems to be a good time to show what 'Not retiring means to Renotta. Love your beautiful hat. Why don't we bring back more hats, Babyboomer Women? Why don't we all decide to wear an 'image enhancing hat' this week whilst we are stranded between seasons. We would love to hear your ideas on making the years count.
Cheers Clara
Welcome to my journey as I photograph something I create everyday for a year... RRThttp://www.shopatnextdoor.com/
Chain, Chain, Chain March 24th
Chain, Chain, Chain...I love this chain. I made a three foot long chain of some of my favorite beads with links of hammered pewter wire. Hat Trick...March 23rd
Loom knit wool, felted and reconstructed into a fanciful hat.
Stranded...March 22nd
Stranded between winter and spring. Six foot strand of beads woven back and forth to create this multiple strand necklace. Copper, pearls, turquoise, jasper, serpentine.
To view or add comment, click on comments at bottom of page or send an email - clara@babyboomerconnections.com.au or visit my website at www.babyboomerconnections.com.au
This is a bit off track here but did I mention to you that about the same time we reconnected, I also found my best friend from highschool? Unlike you, she only lives 45 minutes away in my hometown. We've been spending time together getting to know each other again & reminiscing about our childhood. It's been so great to have a close friend who remembers my family, especially my mom. We share alot of common memories as well as fill in what the other one has forgot. We laugh alot just like we did 45 years ago. Yesterday we just drove around our hometown, looking at places we lived, where we went to school, where we worked. SR has so much to do with having good friendships. Connecting with people you connect with.
ReplyDeleteLove
R
Hi Babyboomers
ReplyDeleteAt this stage of life I can pretty much do as I please every moment of the day. And isn’t that what it’s really about – KNOWING what pleases us so we CAN do it ? BUT not quite – one has to value oneself enough to follow this path, otherwise one is hooked on one’s own hang-ups!
At one time, over a year or so, I just ‘got’ that I was through working, through struggling to help others professionally, and personally through with tiresome people who bore me (if I sound bloody-minded that’s because I am – hooray – at last! I’m filling my life with interesting people, fun people, people with whom I can be myself most fully, people who are unpretentious … and with activities that interest me and them, and if they stop interesting me tomorrow then I’ll stop doing them.
WHERE I live is crucial to my enjoyment. To my surprise, it is not where I’d long lived nor as I always planned - in Sydney – at all. Living in a fairly small, mid-north coast town with a vibrant older community makes all this much easier than living in the city. We ‘find’ each other through the fabulous institution of U3A (university of the third age) - google their website if you don’t know about it. It’s in your town/city too most likely. Wildfire social connectivity.
Then … when I go up town (one minute’s drive) there’s always a couple of people I know, waving at me. I go down the street and I’m in the briney. I go across the street and I’m in the river. Woolies is 2 mins away and no traffic or parking hassles. Sydney is within striking distance when I get the itch.
Can’t write any more – only home between activities and off to heat up the tagine I cooked when I had time the other day, (like cooking – occasionally!) before going off to a concert tonight.
So, if I have a ‘recipe’ for successful retirement, it’s do whatever it takes to value yourself enough to know you’ve done your best and now it’s time for you to please yourself and to get to know, deeply, what satisfies you. Then go do it! Can you hear the retired therapist in that?!!
Joie de Vivre