Seniors in September

September will always feel like the beginning of a new year to me. Since I was a classroom teacher for so many years, fall was filled with promise as I welcomed little faces who hoped to learn how to read and write with confidence.

When I began writing this column in September 2012, I needed to create a new version of me: retiree.

My confidence had waned. I thought if other retirees would write to me and tell me how they had found fulfillment in their lives, I could learn from them.

So I have learned from you! And many of you have written to say you are enjoying this column and are relating to my experiences.

I have learned that no two retirees are alike. That each of us must try new things and discover our own path to fulfillment.

And I have discovered that many of my readers are still working.

According to the National Council on Aging website, “... by 2019, over 40 percent of Americans aged 55+ will be employed, making up over 25 percent of the U.S. labor force.” So perhaps it’s time to let go of the word retirement.

The new version of this column will contain similar content but with a broader focus on this unique chapter of our lives. Think of it as Our Senior Yearbook. Maybe Senior Moments? I don’t like the title Act 3, because it sounds like an ending.

Remember looking at your high school or college yearbook and reading what activities you or your friends were involved in? Field hockey, yearbook or editor of the literary magazine? If you were to snap a photo now, what would you be doing? What would it say next to your name? What do you want it to say next to your name?

If you were to make a collage of all the activities you are involved in, would it be colorful or drab?

Our senior years are challenging, and also filled with fun and adventure. I urge you to write to me even if you think I won’t want to read your words.

I have kept a notebook and have printed every email sent to me. Our experiences are bound together and catalogued in yearly binders in my office, which I often avoid because I don’t really want to be a writer most days.

I always imagine someone else is doing something more fun, and I should go to that place if I knew where it was. No amount of therapy will ever change this. I’ve been this way since third grade.

My husband’s current snapshot would show him golfing or attending a graduate class at UD: Turbulence in the Environment.

One of my snapshots in my senior notebook would reveal my hands wrapped around my Kindle.

One of my book clubs recently read “A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amor Towles. I enjoyed the character of Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov very much. I copied this quote into my journal:

“For what matters in life is not whether we receive a round of applause; what matters is whether we have the courage to venture forth despite the uncertainty of acclaim.”

Here’s wishing you will stay with me as we venture forth despite the uncertainty of knowing where we are going or how to get there, really. We can’t avoid turbulence.