The Bad Things About Retirement

It isn't all picnics, sunshine, and rainbows.  There are a few things I don't like about retirement.

My 80-something mom frequently tells me,  "Lynn, don't get old!"   I always laugh ruefully, and say, " It's too late, I'm already there."   This little repartee comes up when we are regaling each other with our latest report on our various ailments.  That is one thing I don't like about retirement: getting old.  It seems that the older I get, the more problems I have with my body, little, nagging aches and pains, slowing down, running out of energy, and a few chronic problems that make life uncomfortable, and sometimes a bit embarrassing. I have a whole army of supplements to combat these things, and keep things under control: Benefiber, Omega 369 fish capsules, Calcium tablets, One A Day for Women, Estroblend (phytogenic capsules), and Echinacea.  It could be worse, I guess.  At least I don't have anything serious, or life-threatening, no high blood pressure, no heart problems, no diabetes.  All my problems would go away if I took better care of myself, ate better, exercised more, drank more water.  So, why don't I?

Ironically, one thing I don't like is that I'm my own boss.  The buck stops here!  I can't blame anyone or anything else for my failures and shortcomings.  It's up to me to decide how to spend my time, what I want to accomplish, and how I want to do it.  That is something I need to do, so I don't spend most of my retirement years in cyberspace, on Facebook, playing games, and contending over religion and politics in an overabundance of forums that I participate in more often than I sometimes should.

I think the worst thing about retirement is coming face to face with the reality that some of my dreams are probably never going to come true because I'm too old.  It's highly unlikely that I will ever go to Nashville and become a singer-songwriter, but I can, if I just get around to it, improve my guitar playing for my own enjoyment, and I can write more poetry.  I will never again play in a symphony orchestra, those days ended with my graduation from high school, and I gave my French horn away years ago.