Aging
OK, so I am officially old. I find myself talking more to
my peers about the subject of personal health. I said that I would never do
this, but here I am at 64 years talking about this aching bone or muscle with
friends. It is probably their fault, because I am sure that I would never bring
up such a subject—not!
“So I saw that there is nothing better for a man than to
enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will
happen after him?” Ecclesiastes 3:22 NIV
I am a Boomer. Each year more than 3.5 million Boomers
turn 55. Their swelling numbers made America’s 50 and older population reach
100 million during 2012. According to the UN Population Division, 1 in 5 people
are expected to be 65 or older by 2035. I don’t figure I will still be walking
around and counted as one of the 1 in 5, so those stats don’t faze me very
much. However, some of my children are reading this post and the point is this:
what are y’all going to do with all those old people?
Many of our friends are either retiring or thinking about
retiring soon. From my perspective retiring is not all that it is played up to
be. I am sure that there are plenty of people who really enjoy retirement. They
are probably those who were smart enough to frugally tuck financial resources
away so that they could live very comfortably in their retirement. I enjoy
doing things with some friends who are retired—I think they may be a bad
influence on my work ethic because when I go somewhere with them they are not
in as big a hurry as I am.
I listen to them talk about how they are enjoying their
retirement, and I am very happy for them. But I am not sure that I want to
retire.
I am not foolish enough to believe that I can work when
my health is failing and I begin to lose my mind. But I just want to work as
long as I am able to do so. I love to work. I love my job. I love going to work.
I want to continue working until I die.
In a Labor Day speech to the New York Agricultural
Association in 1903, Teddy Roosevelt said, “Far and away the best prize that
life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing; and this is a prize
open to every man…”
I am very happy that my work is worth doing.