Silver and Gold Magazine Winter 2014-2015 | Page 12

Retirement
is the Wrong Word!
– By Paulette Petz-Scheme

“At first, I was exhilarated by
the freedom to do whatever
I wanted, whenever I wanted.
But I had to ask myself,
“What do I want to do?”

Everyone nearing “retirement” age has a different idea of

what that means. If you are young enough and have managed
well financially with a view to early retirement, you may
imagine yourself in a blissful state of travelling the world,
of engaging with friends at social gatherings and generally
enjoying the finer things in life. If you have not been able to
set aside funds to draw from after retirement, you may fear
the end of a regular pay-cheque and the inability to purchase
those things which you consider to make your life fulfilling.
If you define yourself by your job, you may have a deeplyingrained fear of losing who you believe you are when you
are no longer in the workforce.
From a simpler viewpoint, perhaps you just look forward
to a time when no one is controlling your schedule, when
there is time to plant a garden, dote on grand-children, visit
museums, read a good book or even write one. Perhaps you
have a “bucket list” that you are eag \