Keys to a Happy Retirement: A Personal Reflection

Yesterday's blog post mentioned a newspaper article's "keys" to a happy retirement. Writing about it made me reflect on my own retirement. I think that the opening questions posed by the article are very important:

1. What do you want out of life?
2. What do you enjoy doing?
3. How will you fill the social gap retirement from work brings? 

Before I retired, I had no idea I'd be doing what I am doing right now, well into this wonderful phase of life. But I did know that I wanted to travel, quilt, write and do art - something I didn't have enough time to do during my working years.

A year after retiring, I started to write this blog - a diary of my life with pictures. In my mind, it would be a picture to those living in other countries of what Canadian life is like. That idea doubtlessly came from my years of teaching English to immigrants, talking about the Canadian way of life and explaining how Canadians think. 

I don't know how many people from other countries actually read this blog, but I know my grown-up children dip into it from time to time. That brings me to my second purpose in writing: We don't always have time or inclination to listen to our parents when they're around - but years later, they may be interested in knowing.

I think retirement evolves, as time progresses. The winter after beginning my blog, I began to take art classes. My neighbor Mary (who is also retired) encouraged me to try botanical drawing, which I did for a few years. Then my curiosity about pottery led me to take a few classes in that.

Traveling has also been my passion - learning about cultures by seeing first hand how people live. I've done a bit of that in retirement, and I'd like to do more...

This brings me to another suggestion made in the article on successful retirement. Draw two columns on a piece of paper: 

• In the first, list three things you want to do more of.
• In the second, list three things you've never done, but would like to do.

Most of mine involve travel! 

• I'd like to spend more time in Hawaii during Canada's long, cold winter months.
• I'd like to spend more time in Toronto with my children - and granddaughter - who live there.
• I'd like to take more art  classes, especially in pen and ink drawing, something I don't really know how to do.

New things: 

• I'd like to walk the Camino de Santiago in Spain.
• I'd like to visit the Grand Canyon.
• I'd like to spend a week or so on the Scottish isle of Iona.

I may never have an opportunity to do any of these new things - and I'm okay with that!