Retirement Years: A Second Puberty, A Second Chance

When old age catches up with us, many people tend to look back and reminisce about past experiences. They want to relive the pleasant ones. Others look back and contemplate only the experiences that never happened. They turn to the future to complete the tasks never completed or never experienced.

I am one of these uncompleted spirits. I am a soldier who did not finish the battle or complete all the tasks that need to be done.

Only yesterday I was young and concentrated only on my work; retirement seemed far away. The "rat race" was a race. The "rats" were big, but there were good times. Then suddenly the "rats" were younger and meaner. It was harder to keep up with the pack. I thought about a break, a rest and retirement. But I viewed retirement as many do: old age, "out to pasture," and time in the rocking chair.

Then retirement came: an endless vacation started. Each day was a holiday. I could think and do what I really wanted. There was no time for the rocking chair.

A brand new page opened in my life. Everything was gray: The graying of America was not a myth anymore but a fact. Suddenly, there were new friends and new people to deal with. Most were gray, but they weren't absent-minded or helpless.

They were vital, with more energy and talent than the "rats" of the early years. These seniors are not "rats;" these are the "gray panthers." We are busy. There's so much to do, I have trouble finding the time each day to read the newspaper completely.

When we're working, we sink into a groove, a routine that takes all our energy. Retirement provides the opportunity to think and do new things. So much needs to be done.

Retirement is a second puberty without the complications of sex. The senior years have problems with diminishing physical power, but there is no rush - no deadlines to meet or appointments to rush to. The clock runs slower, but the week passes faster.

Retirement enhances the powers of the mind and the quietness of the spirit. Yet there is so much to do that there is a rainbow in the twilight of life.

Retirement is liberation and renewal - a new spring. We can make of retirement what we want; spring is in the eye of the beholder. - Enrique H. Palao

Memory book

"Grandfather Remembers: Memories For My Grandchild," by Judith Levy (Harper-Collins, $15.95) is a workbook to encourage grandfather to put his life on paper.

There's a family tree to share his history and photos of his parents and himself as a baby, boy, young man, new husband and long beyond.

Entries go beyond the typical to such things as "I've always regretted I didn't . . ."

The page titled Your Birth is bound to be popular with grandchildren. In addition to the child's baby picture and birth data, it includes such thoughts as "When I first saw you, I . . ."

This could be a good grandfather-child project to complete this summer.

As Time Goes By appears each Sunday in The Seattle Times and is produced by the Seattle-King County Advisory Council on Aging.

If you're an older person and have a problem, there are many agencies in the Seattle/King County area to help you, but finding the right agency to meet your need can be frustrating and complicated. Senior Information and Assistance may be able to help, call 448-3110 or toll-free, 1-800-972-9990.

Please address questions or comments to As Time Goes By, c/o Scene, The Seattle Times, P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111.

You should know Senior picnic: Area seniors are invited to the annual Oldtimers' Picnic Aug. 21, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Woodland Park Stove Site No. 6.

The free picnic will have have music, entertainment, sports and other activities. For details call the Mayor's Office for Senior Citizens, 684-0500, or the Parks Department, 684-4951.