An article by Mary Paul

Every day is Friday for you

A conversation about the emotional and psychological aspects of retirement.

Mary Paul Mary Paul LLC

About a year after my retirement, I had lunch with my former boss. She and I were catching up on all the changes at work, when she looked at me and said, “What do you care, every day is Friday for you!” For some reason, that comment has stuck with me for several years. It occurred to me her remark was how she perceived what retirement must be like. In other words, she, and probably many other working people, think retirement is a collection of endless days of leisure lled with countless playful activities with little or no responsibility and just taking it easy.

Certainly, our lives might seem like a long awaited vacation for a few months after we retire, but then, the business of living as a retiree begins to set in. In several national studies, retirement is listed as one of the top ten major life transitions, and in a couple of studies, retirement is in the top ve major life transitions, right up there with marriage, kids, divorce, and even death of a loved one.

For those of us who associated much of our own self worth with our jobs, retirement can at times seem to be more of a loss than a gain. My presentations do not cover the nancial aspects of retirement, I’ll leave that to the nancial experts. The discussions I facilitate focus on the emotional and psychological aspects of retirement that often are not spoken about. How we reect upon our emotional desires for retirement and how we navigate achieving those goals can make a huge dierence between a fullling retirement and a retirement where we feel something is missing.

In addition, throw a global health crisis into the mix, and we all have a new reality that was not part of our retirement plans. So many of our daily activities are being impacted by the pandemic. Our social needs, our desires to see family and friends, the ability to travel, the opportunities to participate in senior and community activities have all been altered.

Join our webinar on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2020 at 4 p.m., and share in a discussion about ideas and possibilities to rediscover ourselves and enhance the possibility for fostering a healthy retirement amidst so many complications. It doesn’t matter if you are considering retirement, recently retired, or like me, been retired for several years; we’ll enjoy discovering possibilities and sharing experiences during our time together.