Do you have a shelf life? Maintaining identity after retirement

by Roberta Ness

How to stay vibrant, purposeful, and connected when the 9-to-5 ends but life keeps going.

Welcome back to our sunny corner booth, dear one. Today I’m taking a week off from cooking and instead offering protein bars that I got on bulk sale. Sorry if this is a disappointment, but it gives you insight into my daily (suboptimal) breakfast-on-the-run while working. As a physician-epidemiologist with aspirations to save the world, two kids at home, and a marriage, I had scarce time for the kind of home-cooked breakfasts that I enjoy serving up and eating today.

The change came at age 60, when I jumped off the early retirement cliff. I’d spent 30 years with exactly zero work/life balance, and I felt overdue for a make-over. I had no plan – only a need to expand my horizons - rediscover what brought me joy. Was it scary? Yes- way scary.

Today, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been, but it’s taken a lot of trial and error to get here. By sharing what I’ve learned, I hope I can shorten your learning curve. No matter your age, even if this seems too far off to think about, even if it’s 20 or 30 years from now, “well informed is well prepared,” as my mother used to say.

Encountering Café Rush without a recipe

Retirement is like entering Mom’s Diner kitchen an hour before the breakfast rush except you’re not Mom. In fact, this is your first time you’ve ever walked into an industrial kitchen and you barely know how to cook. The Assistant Chefs are all staring at you expectantly. They ask, “What’s on the menu? How should we prepare today’s Specials?” You’re frantically thinking: Ecofriendly vegan stew? Hearty comfort oatmeal? Pick your own fillings omelet? Without instructions, a formula, a menu, you’re panic-struck…