Retire? Not Today!

I have had the privilege or blessing of hanging out at a very expensive beachfront condo this last week. It has been a lot of fun watching the various types of people that jog or walk past on the boardwalk. I truly don’t want to admit that if I had lived a more normal corporate life, if I had followed my career path of being a chemist or researcher, I could retire in the next year or so. Yet, God had a different path for me to pursue and retirement is the last thing on my brain. I’m around so many different people who seem to find themselves in their 60’s and then live their second life during their golden years!

I have been involved with Habit for Humanity for a decade as a board member and president only to see that a good majority of the HFH volunteer force are what I call senior saints. These are those that lived the good life but then have chosen to give back in their retirement by helping construct low-income housing for those less fortunate! What is amazing about HFH is that this organization isn’t a give away but partnership that helps everyone come together and learn from one another.

Yes, I would love to be around the ocean more often but what is the biggest draw in my life was a text from an 11 year-old little guy. He’s very much part of my life. I get at least a dozen texts from him each day that are rather simple – HI! He along with many others that come out of very unfortunate circumstances have captured my heart. The question to consider is what has captured your heart? What can’t you walk away from in your life?

As we were lazing on the couches watching the evening news, as we heard the ocean roar in the background, there was a news highlight on second careers. It was so refreshing to see someone in their 60’s who had worked in a corporate office setting decide to walk away and open up her own Pet Store that catered to dogs and cats. She was in her glory and realized that she was making it and had six full time employees that benefited from her passion. There was another young 60 something that had gone into helping seniors transition into assisted living settings.

I know that my wife, my best friend, at times joke about the fact that we won’t have a huge amount in our old age but don’t fear being greeters at Wal-Mart. The reality is that there is a large group of baby boomers that will enter into their second phase of life and will get bored sitting or golfing all of the time. I’m excited to see how many will choose to give back as much as they have received over their lifetime? My selfish hope is that many will choose to partner with existing groups that help those that have struggled in life without a family or much support. I look forward to getting lots of texts from my younger kids until the day that I die or transition into heavenly retirement! J