WASHINGTON, DC / US News & World Report / Money / February 3, 2012
On Retirement
Only Old on the Outside
By Dave Bernard
As we attain the status of senior citizen, the challenges due to aging take their toll. We have graying hair, a slower step, and perhaps a lost set of keys, which may cause others to view us with a bias based exclusively on our external persona.
[See The 10 Best Places to Retire in 2012.]
For many people it is hard to imagine that within each senior citizen resides the same person who started their life so many years ago.
Despite what the mirror may indicate, each senior citizen was once a crazy kid who drove neighborhood pets into hiding, a creative teenager who made money mowing lawns and house sitting, a young adult who bravely started a family, and the tireless worker who supported the endless requirements of raising a family. And now senior citizens are transitioning into retirement and facing new challenges. On the inside they are the same. They are only old on the outside.
[See 7 Misconceptions About Retired Life.]
Have you ever been talking with a senior when suddenly a mischievous twinkle crosses her eyes as she relives a past event, and for a moment you are drawn into her world? You are no longer communicating with an old person, but instead a person like you with a story to tell of a life being lived.
[See 9 Secrets of Retirement Happiness.]
When talking with my grandma, sometimes something quite inappropriate would come from her mouth, causing me to double take and think, 'Did she really just say that?´ I was given a quick peek into the funny, irreverent, and quick-witted woman she had been and obviously still was. Looking at the slightly hunched, slow walking, and soft spoken old lady she appeared to be, who would have thought it? When it comes
to senior citizens, what you see is not always what you get. What lies beneath the surface is often far better than the graying package.
Dave Bernard is not yet retired but has begun his due diligence to plan for a satisfying retirement. With a focus on the non-financial aspects of retiring, he shares his discoveries and insights on his blog Retirement - Only the Beginning.
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