I Really Did Think I Was Alone
I thought most of my contemporaries were kicking back their feet
Leisurely going through their days
Taking an exercise class
Traveling to Spain
Lunching with the girls
Playing a little pickleball
Doing something totally frivolous at whim
And here I was
Totally pre-occupied
Somewhat stressed (actually, pretty darn stressed)
Over stimulated
Making new connections
Meeting new people
Learning new stuff
And launching a brand-new initiative
It turns out that people around my age – the
first wave of the ubiquitous baby boomers –
are once again breaking the mold, writing their own script for aging gloriously and controlling their own remote.
In the Wall Street Journal, on June 27, 2023 this headline appeared: More High-Powered People Choose to Work into Their 80’s
Recognizing that our generation has concerns over QTR (Quality Time Remaining), many of us are simply deciding to work rather than simply retire. Some need to continue due to financial constraints, but many simply cite that they “Just want to.”
Maybe they just don’t like pickleball – maybe their spouse is pushing them to do something besides sitting idle. Maybe they are just bored
And role models now abound. No matter your personal opinion of President Biden, age 80, running for re-election, it certainly supports the mind set that your ninth decade can still be one of productivity and purpose. Further proof: Harrison Ford, at age 80, is releasing his latest “Indiana Jones” movie. No mean feat.
It kinda makes retirement at age 65 look extremely premature. Outdated. And an obsolete template.
My father was thrilled, when on the eve of his 80th birthday, he received one present from all of his grandkids: a briefcase.
I was shocked at the happiness it brought him.
“Are you kidding?” he marveled, “My family thinks it’s normal for me to be working at my age and bought me a briefcase to replace my bedraggled one – wow that spurs me to keep on keeping on.”
Personally, I owe this productive and invigorating stage in life to a recognition of two things: The concept of QTR (Quality Time Remaining) and the clock constantly ticking.
What is “Quality Time Remaining” all about? It’s a philosophy and a filter for making choices in life.
It involves facing your own mortality
Taking things OFF the back burner
No more vowing to do it SOMEDAY
Focusing on living the life you want after whittling down what is really important to you
And who you want to spend time with
So once again, I, too, am totally involved with something new as I take full advantage of my “Quality Time Remaining” – treading precariously in uncharted waters.
I’m not quite ready to unveil my newest adventure, but I will tell you a few things it is already doing for me:
Introducing me to people I would never have met otherwise
Forcing me to learn new tech skills (very reluctantly, I might add)
Learning the inner workings and constraints of being a non-profit
Scoping out new information daily on trends, habits, challenges and roadblocks incurred as we journey through the winter of our lives.
And here is something delightful I ran across:
Julia Louis Dreyfuss has just launched a new podcast series called “Wiser Than Me” where she interviews woman in their 70’s and 80’s after wondering why we don’t hear more from older women on how to live a full and meaningful life. (Her interview with Fran Lebowitz is awesome!)
Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick Tock.
In the meantime, Keep Preserving Your Bloom,
Iris Ruth Pastor
PS: Part of living fully in your QTR is finding your “Happy Place.”
Where’s yours?
And why?
Send me back your answers: irisruthpastor@gmail.com