Retirement Life

My grandmother retired in 1981 when my cousin was born. She retired early so that she could help my aunt by taking care of him while she worked. My grandmother stayed busy after retirement and she has always been very active. When my aunt was sick with cancer, she would go to their house and help my uncle with the house and do the ironing. She also likes to cook and can make the best homeade bread. She has always done the cooking for the family on the holidays. She likes to read; mostly her Sunday school lesson and the Bible as she was a teacher. She is still active in the church and always likes being with the family. You would not know by looking at her that she is ninety years old. She is very healthy for her age.



My father in law retired in 1992. He also retired early due to circumstances on his job. When he first retired he enjoyed his time off and his hobby was hunting. My husband, his brother and their father would take a trip every year to Arkansas to deer hunt. His favorite past time is shooting targets. After my brother in law died in 2005, he lost interest in hunting. He is 77 years old, and this last hunting season he only went hunting with my husband once. Now his favorite thing to do is watching television and sleeping; mostly sleeping.



My father retired in January 2005. When he first retired, he was so excited about retirement. He was an inventory auditor so he travelled very often. Now he could take some time to visit friends and family. The only thing bad about my father's retirement is that he has more health problems now than he had in the years he was working. He has not been able to enjoy his retirement as much as in the beginning because he feels so bad. The only thing he does now is stay at home watching sports and game shows on television. If the news gets too bad, he will turn it off and sit at home in silence all alone. The highlight of his week is when my siblings or I come to visit. Then he does not want us to go home.



Retirement is a long way off for me; however, when I retire I hope I can be like my grandmother. I want to stay busy and maybe do some travelling. I hope when I am her age I can say I have been as healthy as she is. A person can enjoy so much more of his life if he feels good. Retirement should be a time in life that you can do all the things you wished you could have done while you were working. It should be a happy time in your life.