Some musings on being an aging boomer

I don’t do volunteer work, because of the commitment of time. Now it is not the time commitment but the regular commitment of time. I worked all my life, and I have been retired for 25 years and I value my time. I don’t like the idea of having to commit on a regular basis to one activity, not even golfing with my friends.

I was giving a workshop to the SOB (Some Old Boys Club) on Licencing Issues for Seniors and I was talking to one of the members before the workshop. We had been talking about retirement and I had said, I was so busy that I had been forced to start keeping a schedule.

He then talked about how he respected those who volunteered but that because he did not like to be tied down he would not volunteer. He also said that his wife had decided to volunteer at the local hospital but when she went to the orientation meeting and talked to the staff, she quickly realized that she too, did not want to be tied to a specific schedule. The hospital did not offer any flexible options, so she is not volunteering.

The idea of not volunteering because of time commitment is one I have heard before and one that is a legitimate concern of many seniors. We have worked for over 30 years tied to time schedules and time commitments controlled by others; in retirement we are now in control of our own time and we value our time, and we are suspicious of giving up our use of our time to others.

If you ask people who are not retired, the freedom from work, usually means, if you drill deeper, the freedom to do what they want, when they want. So if people want seniors to volunteer they need to take a flexible approach to scheduling, if they cannot then they will lose many potential volunteers.

My volunteer activities with COSCO Health and Wellness Institute, give me the freedom to choose when I volunteer, it is very flexible, a fact I enjoy.

The other issue that many organizations that work with seniors are faced with is the name senior. I do not think of myself as a senior, I prefer the term sonic boomer, many of my friends call themselves boomers. At a recent conference I was at, a number of organizations said they were considering removing the term senior from their name.

Boomers have always seen themselves as a unique group, we try to defy labels that define us by age or by any other term. The early boomers have reached 70 years and we see the it as the new 50. A friend of mine said that his doctor told him that a 70-year-old today is healthier than a 50-year-old was 20 years ago. I tend to believe him. We are living longer, and we are healthier and cannot see ourselves as seniors. So to attract the boomers to become volunteers or members many seniors’ organizations are changing their name and their approach to engaging my generation. This is a good thing as we need to keep active and involved to bring about change.

The power of a smile,

The wiser you get, the younger you appear.  

Here are some words of advice, thanks to Colleen for this

It is all in the interpretation:

I have had enough!!!! So sick of it, I'll never help anyone again…EVER!! Either I'm too kind-hearted, or I'm too stupid ... Whatever! 

Yesterday it was so cold, and my heart ran away with me once again.... I took a man into my home out of pity .... and out of the kindness of my heart. I felt so sorry for him, he was trembling with cold, poor thing out in the snow.

But this morning, he had just vanished without a word, not even a goodbye or a thank you or a kiss my butt for sheltering him.

And the last straw was when I realised he had peed all over the living room floor............. that's the "thank you" I get for being good to people, so let me warn my friends, watch out for this man. 

He is very pale, heavy set, wearing nothing but a scarf, he has a nose that looks like a carrot, and two black eyes that shine like coal. His arms are so skinny they look like sticks!!! Don't bring him in to your house, what a huge mess he made on my carpeted floor.

Dreams

This is the time of renewal, fall is fading and winter is drawing near. We will soon be in the darkness of winter when dreamers dream of renewal and lovers dream of love and poets and writers dream--just dream. 

While dreams are like that, most of the time we don't even know how close we are, until after they've come true. 

Sometimes, even, the very day before they come true, it still feels like they're a million miles away. 

Something to remember, as winter drifts closer

Remember the joy of your youth

Remember the joy you used to feel when you'd find a quarter in the street? 

And how exciting it was when you got older and found a crumpled $20 bill in the pocket of a pair of jeans you hadn't worn in months? 

Well, brace yourself, because the day isn't far off when in-between taking naps, playing in the snow, or swimming laps, or doing the routine happy dance, you'll be busy gathering documents for your tax return preparer and suddenly find a statement to a bank account you don't even remember opening, with more than enough money in it to do whatever your heart now longs to do, probably twice. 

And if you don't find this extra money or wealth, just remember this is the season of the unexpected so when you find something unexpected such as a  snow freshly falling, filling the trees with white wonder, then rejoice in the joy of the season.