How strange it is that, seemingly overnight, our notion of what it means to reach and pass the age of 50 has been turned upside down and inside out. What got me thinking about such matters was the invitation I received to be the host of this new Gather.com group. As you can see, it's called Living at Its Best!
I can remember when those words, applied to those of us past 50, would have suggested a time of life dedicated to slowing down. We dreamt of kissing the grind goodbye so we could spend our days gardening or cooking, taking the grandson fishing or watching baseball on TV. Of course, some of us still do a lot of that and enjoy it no end. But today, we have different kinds of dreams. We're not so much interested in slowing down as we are in discovering new things to do and new challenges to take up.
It starts before we actually retire. The kids go off to work or school fulltime, and we suddenly have the freedom to travel when and where we want on our vacations, and the time to take up a new hobby or enroll in some courses at a nearby college. Once we actually quit the job, we have a whole new set of options -- and that includes taking on a new job. More and more of us are using our retirement to start a second career. Or we're selling our homes and buying RVs and motorboats so we can see America up close and personal. Or we're spending more time on volunteer work -- and more energy learning how to live with our spouses 24/7.
Those are some of the things we'll be writing and talking about in this group. The object is to shed light on the possibilities of the post-50 generations. That also happens to be one of the major goals of our group sponsor, AARP.
My credentials for writing about this stage of life, incidentally, are very much in order. After almost 30 years as an editor and writer at The New York Times, I retired and wrote a column for The Times about older people -- it was called "Senior Class." I've been using my retirement to write a novel, play tennis, travel abroad, and, oh yes, relearn how to get along with my spouse.
If this group had a motto, I suspect it would be something like Abraham Lincoln's observation: "It's not the years in your life that count, but the life in your years." That's what Living at Its Best! is all about. So, welcome to our group and our member discussions -- and let's put some more zest in our living.
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Robert W. Stock, a New York Times alumnus, is a writer and editor based in New York.
Life over 50 gets better and better! Find out how at the Living at Its Best! group, presented by AARP. Click here to join the discussion group.
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Comments: 10
There are SO many things to get involved in - and not have to wake up early the next morning to go to work.
For those in NYC there is the New York Academy of Sciences website with links for various activities in the metropolitan area - mostly free. www.nyas.org
I felt like I tried many different careers (unpaid) once retired. Took me at least two years to get my groove. Like anything else, your good intentions (oh I can finally volunteer for all the organizations I've wanted to help!) can get the best of you. The first two years I was on so many committees and boards I was finding I actually had no time again to do what I wanted.
You still need to be choosy with your time.
I would like to say sorry for taking a while to get to your article. I have been away from gather for a while and I am finally getting to the 3000 plus emails I have awaiting me on here to go through. so I am starting from the most recent received to the first I ever received.... So now I am finally able to read your piece. Thank you for sending me the link to this article.
Now second thing:
Thank you for sharing this wonderful article with us... on gather... I appreciate it. :o) Great info in it. :o)