{Time well spent when I was pregnant with my babies.}
My father was passionate about his work and built his whole life around "the job". When the industry that provided my father employment and our family a good living was re-regulated in the 1990's and trucking company after trucking company shut their doors, my father found himself out of a job. He was one of the fortune ones. His years working were spent building a dynamic company with people he cared about and respected. That made the transition of working full time to a life of retirement more difficult but eventually he did find his way and crafted a meaningful and engaging life after work.
I have been working since I was 15 years old. In many ways I have followed in my father's footsteps. While I have had 3 distinct careers, I was passionate about each and worked very hard to excel. But as the thought of retirement makes its way into my consciousness, I find that I am now in the unique position of crafting a life that is not focused solely on my career. A life that will not be driven by someone else's time clock or priorities. On the whole I find this to be an exciting challenge though at time a little daunting. When you live in a society that declares winners and losers by the size of their paycheck, stepping our of the game is a bit frightening.
Studies show that people who have a hobby while working have an easier time transitioning into retirement. I have learned that a good segment of my high school friends do have and are passionate about their hobbies. As I understand it, a hobby is considered any pursuit outside of ones occupation and is done for relaxation. For course, my friends whose hobby is college football never seem to be relaxed as they suffer the "thrill of victory and the agony of defeat". Or those whose hobby is fishing, recount chasing the illusive "big one" or how the boat needs a tune up. It does sound like a hobby can be as emotional, time consuming and as vexing as work...and as equally rewarding.
When I think of "having a hobby", I remember the boys I knew when I was young who spend hours putting together model airplanes. It was delicate work and took a great deal of time. I was impressed. Both times I was pregnant, I took up embroidery. I don't know why the intricate work appealed to me but once the babies came, the embroidery was quickly put away. While it may be a while before I can actually retire, I am excited about having the time to develop a new skill like running or taking up an old one like embroidery. What are your hobbies? Are they a continuation from your youth or something you developed along the way? As you look at the different season of your life, are there different hobbies you would like to take-up? As for me I am exploring different pursuits before the actually day I walk away from work.
Hugs,
C