Yesterday I received a call letting me know my application to be a volunteer at the senior activity center had been approved. Starting tomorrow I will be assisting in the computer lab teaching seniors how to manage computer tasks, like email, writing, photos, etc. Today I intend to join the genealogy group, and next week, the writing workshop. I'll let y'all know how those go.
Also, yesterday, I did a very dangerous thing. I took my honey on a tour of retirement community open houses. We visited three, bringing our "total" to five. Oh, if only I were a decade or two older...
They all sound so warm and caring, and expensive. I'm not cheap (frugal won't even speak to me), but I don't want to waste money paying for something I already have. Like It we saved for retirement, like Greger and Jeff have stayed out of debt, and like Julia retired earlier than intended for medical reasons. "Here" sound just fine as a place to retire to, in my book. I'm listening to the sound of the new roof being applied as I write.
My wife, I think, is "thinking" older than I am. She's not even 62, yet, but is withdrawing and looking at older people (70s and 80s) as "peers." I look at contemporaries and next gen folks and think of the possibilities for their futures - and want to do something about it, to take this time to get involved and make a difference - to expand. I may not be up to skiing anymore, but I still have functioning bikes, motorcycles, tools and skills. I want to put them to work, not lament their loss. Ours is a conflict of desires I am trying to navigate very carefully...
So, my friends, I'd like some advice: How do I keep myself involved in community, and activity, when my honey is hermitizing? She is overly dependent on me for daily tasks she's capable of doing herself (like dishes and laundry), and complains of being lonely whenever I go off to the hardware store or am out doing other routine chores. This is not like her. She's always been supremely independent, as the song goes.
I'm really worried about this. I am devoted to her, obviously, but I don't think this withdrawal and obsessing about downsizing (which I consider a process, not a task) is healthy - for either of us. Any suggestions?
