Bucket list” is a popular catch phrase for retirement goals, a product of years of possibilities now waiting to be fulfilled. But such thinking is often more wishful than doable. Luckily, a wish list doesn’t have to include a grand new plan. The freedom from job constraints allows plenty of time for a real list of someday wishes and a sum of smaller wants can add up to real satisfaction.
KEEP MOVING
Get a pet: While former workday hours may not have been suitable for keeping a pet, there’s time now. Dogs give their owners a reason to get out and walk every day. Even without that permanent commitment, pet lovers can foster animals on a temporary basis. Cats don’t demand exercise, but they’re still good for entertainment they, and the owner stays busy looking after them. (“Dogs have owners; cats have staff.”)
Take a walk: No dog? Walking is the most basic exercise, and when done with others, it becomes walk-and-talk time, a double benefit. It’s much easier to stick to a routine when regular time is already set aside.
Try yoga or tai chi: Either activity provides a special incentive to get moving, and both can be easy on joints. Work with someone who can make an appropriate plan.
Swim: Swimming is easy on the body but still provides healthy motion and aerobics. Just as importantly, it’s fun.
Dance, dance, dance: Ballroom, salsa, zumba, line, or square—enough choices? Dancing is more enjoyable than ordinary exercising, and just as beneficial. If no organized classes are nearby, elect the best dancer in your group and start your own.
Get out and dig: Gardeners probably planted flowers and vegetables even before retirement, but it’s now reasonable to try specialties like Bonsai trees or orchids, a butterfly garden or a fairy garden (the miniature set-up that can be planted outside or indoors in a framed “garden plot”).
REACH OUT
Want to be a ham? Amateur (ham) radio operators make friends around the world, learning about new countries and cultures without leaving home. Good news—gone is the requirement that the new operator must be proficient in Morse code to get a license. Local clubs provide information to get started.
Create a family heirloom: In recent years, genealogy has become a popular pastime. It’s a time and labor-intensive study, but it can reveal fascinating personal stories to families, as a friend learned by following her great-great-great-grandfather’s California Gold Rush journey. Photos and information from her own trip will be part of a detailed family history, an invaluable gift to lucky family recipients.
Write a book: Many grandparents want to write a children’s book based on a favorite family story. Or perhaps it’s a mystery novel centered on a family ghost. As they say, “just do it”!
FOCUS ON FOOD
Form a cooking club. Organize a group of foodies for a regular schedule of lunch or dinner dates and take turns cooking. These might start with each family’s traditional foods, then switch to vegetarian. There’s no limit to menu ideas.
Rather not cook? If the group prefers eating out, area restaurants offer plenty of choices. Breakfast and lunch shouldn’t be overlooked—it’s usually easier to linger longer at these meals than at dinnertime, allowing more time to catch up.
Don’t forget picnics. This area of Virginia is full of pleasant picnic spots: parks and nature trails, boat launch ramps and beaches, historic home sites. County maps help to locate likely places. No picnic table? Set up folding chairs or stay in the car and enjoy the waterfront or forest view as you munch.
TOUR BY COUNTRY OR COUNTY
Travel: Travel is a common wish for retirees, and if income allows, choices are truly endless. If a foreign country is chosen, learning the basics of a new language should be on the to-do list.
Vacation: Smaller budgets can still bring the many pleasures of seeing new places. With friends, map out a vacation route that allows each person to include their special interests. Nature-lovers want to visit parks, gardeners seek botanical gardens, birders find unexpected additions to their bird-list, and history buffs note every site or marker. As each person shares each interest, all gain new appreciation. And of course, expenses are also shared. Siblings and/or cousins can do such a trip as an annual reunion.
Meander: Travel without overnighting. On the road map, draw a circle enclosing a 50-mile radius of home. Gather three or four friends, and plan a series of day trips to the notable sites that fall within that circle. Take along the county maps.
REVIVE A FORMER INTEREST
Music: Renew piano lessons, learn a new instrument, or join a chorus or choir, all for individual activity with group enjoyment. Attend area concerts and gain another kind of music lesson.
Art: If painting was a youthful pastime, bring it back. Start with a sketchpad and colored pencils or pastels and work outdoors with the “plein air” painters. Then set aside a corner of the house for an easel and all the extras for studio work.
Photography: Cameras (including the phone’s) go everywhere and become a part of every retirement pastime.
Fiber art: Knitting, crocheting, needlepoint, quilting, tatting, to mention a few. Not only are these activities time well spent, the end results are well received when given to family or friends. Some sewing groups make items for various charitable organizations, a true win-win situation.
Woodworking: Building with wood is a sometime hobby that can easily grow with retirement time. Besides making an assortment of wooden crafts for home use or gifts, a woodworker might volunteer time to teach children the necessary skills at schools, camps, or children’s clubs.
Restoring cars, motorcycles, or boats: It’s no coincidence that antique car clubs are active in retirement communities. This is the time to indulge a wish to own the car or bike or boat of many a dream. Visits to a car or boat show can only suggest the time spent on restorations, but the pride of ownership is universal, a recurring trip down Memory Lane.
Birdwatching: Set up a backyard bird feeder, a birdbath, and some bird houses. Besides the pleasant wake-up call, it’s relaxing to watch the birds, interesting to learn about them, and challenging to sketch or photograph them.
PICK A MISSION
Volunteers are needed for so many reasons. In addition to the specifics of each organization’s mission, all need help with operating the business. Giving time is obviously important for the groups, but volunteers also benefit from the interaction with a new circle of friends.
Libraries: Ask the local librarian where help is needed. It may be at the counter or answering computer questions. Children’s programs often use an extra person, possibly with reading or tutoring assistance. The library is also the likely place to find a book club.
Museums: Volunteers are always needed for the many jobs that help maintain each organization’s historic focus and its connection to today’s residents and visitors alike.
Food Bank: Local food pantries may need assistance with distribution and/or meal preparation. Check with the Northern Neck Food Bank for information on other ways to help.
U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary: Those interested in boating can join the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, which helps the U.S. Coast Guard promote boating safety. It’s not necessary to own a boat or to be an experienced boater—the auxiliary provides training.
Audubon Society: Join an Audubon chapter and take part in bird counts, maintain nature trails, build bird houses, and generally raise awareness of issues affecting birds and other wildlife.
Animal shelters: Humane society, animal shelter, animal rescue, animal rehab—whatever the title, these groups need help with the feeding, cleaning, walking, and socializing of the animals in their care.
Habitat for Humanity: Be part of a construction team assembled by this well-known organization to build a habitat house. Besides helping a person achieve home ownership, volunteers learn valuable skills that can prove useful on their own future projects.
And many more: Volunteers should look for a groups whose work matches their interests, initially planning a small number of hours to see if it’s a good fit.
SMILE
People often say they’re busier in retirement than they were when working full time. It may seem that way simply because they now choose the work in order to enjoy the activity. Whatever the reason, it appears that busyness does indeed translate to happiness.