Not paint by numbers
“Lady, get a hobby!” “My dear, you should volunteer. Giving back is very rewarding.” “Good grief, what a problem to have: Too much time on your hands.” “Love your work not your job.” These comments and variations on them came my way recently after my personal essay about my first year in retirement was published in The Globe and Mail. While I had titled it “Beyond 9 to 5”, the paper’s title is “I was struggling with the new-found freedom that retirement brings” — less oblique, better search-engine optimization. Fine, the editors know what they’re doing. And, as evidenced by some of the 80+ comments posted in response online, many readers of my essay know what they’re doing in retirement and are free with their advice to me about it. See above comments. Of course, in any group of people, there will be those who know it all and have the answer for you — cannot imagine why you even have to ask the question. But there are also those who share your question and consideration of the mat