THE RETIREMENT INTERVIEWS #2

I am interviewing several people around “retirement age” to get their individual opinions about their personal experiences.

MICHAEL

I have known Michael for thirty years. Our relationship grew stronger as we shared our battles when simultaneously going through our divorces and supported each other in that prolonged process. Michael had spent some of his early years traveling and working in Europe. He especially loved his time in Paris where he was able to explore the casual lifestyle of the cafes of the Left Bank. 

Michael is almost exactly five years older than I am. We had long discussed taking a trip together to Paris and talked about spending our almost adjacent birthdays there. We thought about it for when I was 45 and he was 50 and then every five years thereafter.

Michael worked for the state of Wisconsin for 43 years starting out as a counselor for the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation and working his way up to a high level position in the Department of Workforce Development. His focus was on offering productive work opportunities for people with disabilities. His longevity allowed him to feel relatively comfortable financially as he moved into retirement. Michael retired about 7 months ago at the age of 67.

Since retiring, Michael has been active in home improvement projects, regular jogging, meditation, and recently started yoga. Michael is a master potter and has continued to throw on a regular basis seeing this creative outlet as being a likely future focus for him. 

Some of Michael's pottery

He has been volunteering at Second Harvest and is on the board of other non-profits. Michael has been considering some ongoing consulting work in the fields in which he has developed most experience, and has been sought out by groups around the country for his expertise.

Michael has talked about the relief that he has felt in retirement; no longer does he have to deal with the politicking of managing a multi-million dollar budget. Michael feels that in retirement he has been able to free himself from the enmeshed state of always needing to meet the expectations of others. He has been on a journey of discovery, and feels that he is retrieving a personal sense of joy and freedom which had been put on hold in having to function in a high pressure administrative role. This is what he refers to as "a process of unfolding into authentic self."
He keeps busy and maintains a good structure of activities including morning coffee with an informal group of interesting people, and maintaining longstanding friendships with people who help stimulate his mind. Before retiring, Michael was most worried about having too much time on his hands but this has not proved to be a problem.

In reviewing the first months of retirement, Michael noted that he wished that he had taken a celebratory vacation soon after ending his tenure with the State. He has since remedied this deficit by planning a trip for this upcoming summer. He will be flying to Europe with me and we will finally get to explore Paris together.

SCIMP SUMMARY

Michael has maintained strong friendships, some of which date back to the time of his youth; he has expanded his social network and is open to meeting new people at a depthful level. This in turn has added to levels of intellectual curiosity which he pursues often in tandem with his spiritual pathways. His creativity is seen in his home remodeling and in his ceramics work. Michael is one who looks for, and finds meaning in the everyday and has enhanced this in pursuing volunteer work in which he directly helps others. His family is very important to him. Michael has always seemed to excel in taking good care of himself. He jogs, meditates, eats well, and is mindful in his words and actions.