250 Grief and Loss Across the Lifespan
Travel has continued to be an important part of our lives and some trips
have been prioritized while we are physically able. We prefer to travel on our
own, because we like a more leisurely pace than is provided on organized
tours. Just for fun, I created a bucket list and we have done amazingly well
with it. For three summers, we took our granddaughters camping in various
national parks in the American West. Now, the camping has been replaced by
lodging with indoor plumbing and beds, but we still spend about a month
with the two girls in some mix of activities—as long as they are willing.
While we are not really caught in the “sandwich generation,” my mother-
in-law is in her early 90s and is still living in her own house and driving. Now,
there are plans for her to move to an independent living apartment while she is
in good health. My wife has the primary involvement for this, but the multiple
out-of-town trips obviously have an effect on our travel time and budget and
impact how far in advance we want to be locked into nonrefundable overseas
travel plans.
Gradually, I am finding that I am more and more comfortable staying at
home, but we too are getting older and need to think about the next phase of
our lives. We enjoy immensely living in a multigenerational community, but
our house can’t be adapted to one-floor living. So, we are now facing a deci-
sion in the next several years; do we move directly to a 55+ community with
a range of services, or do we take an interim step and move to a one-floor
apartment with a mix of age groups? We have friends who have done both and
there seems to be no consensus on what works best. My wife and I are both
clear that we do not want to move away from our familiar surroundings and
friends, starting fresh in some other community.
As the aging process has continued, I have been forced to make some adjust-
ments to my schedule; it has been a gradual process. When I retired, I took one
pill daily for my asthma. Now, I am up to four pills daily and doing exercises to
maintain my balance and to reduce pain in my shoulder muscles. I sleep a little
longer at night and truly enjoy a short afternoon nap. The physical limitations
annoy me, but I am beginning to accept them and adjust my schedule accord-
ingly. I know that I am really lucky to be so healthy compared to many others.
The move from work to retirement went well. As a person who spent
much of my life as a professional planner, I place a great deal of faith in plan-
ning ahead and it paid off. Our financial plan met expectations, our travel
plans exceeded expectations, and I can truly say that I am happy with this
stage of my life. The experience of the first 7 years of retirement gives me a rea-
sonable degree of confidence that the next phase of our lives will also go well,
recognizing that there are many things beyond our control and unforeseen
events can occur. With so many interests and things I still want to do, I am not
at risk of getting bored any time soon.Reflections on Retirement—1 Year Out
Marcia Krayton Goldstein
Marcia Krayton Goldstein received her BS in social work from the University of
Wisconsin and her MSW from Fordham University. Her career has included work in