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Does Boomer Retirement Nirvana Exist?
It’s not as easy as I thought it would be
When family members of the Greatest Generation retired from lifelong careers, they embarked into a well-deserved better life known as the “Golden Years,” a reward to reaching their own retirement nirvana.
Recently becoming “forced” into retirement after 50 years of working, I now feel unwanted or thrown away like garbage. I’m really struggling with the idea of retirement, searching for meaning as a freshly-minted retired person.
Certainly, I’ve been very lucky to make it this long in life and I do feel fortunate, recalling jobs over my lifetime, the numerous people who shaped my work ethic, the challenges and stimulating growth, each earmark a small sense of accomplishment, even if I was fired from a few along the way.
Like many in our Boomer generation, my work life began when I was young. Back in the 70’s, the little money we had was spent on a Slurpee or baseball cards packed with bubble gum. Occasionally, we bought cheap variety store novelties like the Duncan Yo-Yo or those glass Clacker Balls that caused many blunt force traumas and broken windows. You may think those childhood jobs weren’t really jobs at all, just kids learning about responsibility, which is one way of looking at it. For me at just 12 years old, I actually had…
