I started by looking up “retirement” in the dictionary - it is defined as: Voluntarily or compulsorily giving up employment/active work/public life, especially because of age, to live on ones income; withdraw from society; andseek seclusion.

As far as I am concerned, there is no way I am EVER going to do any of that! And I started to understand Beryl’s request. The time I spend at work provides me not only with an on-going income, among other things it also fills a large portion of my day, allows me to contribute to society in a meaningful way, and provides me with opportunity to socialize. In order to maintain a balanced life, I did need to consider how to fill those gaps in the future.

So, by participating in Beryl’s coaching, she actually has helped me to prepare for the reality of retirement – but a new type of retirement not yet defined in the dictionary (we baby-boomers just keep changing society's definitions!).

The retirement that I will be participating in requires that I take this opportunity in my pre-retirement years to examine my life in a holistic fashion to determine:

• what career transition will allow me the choice in hours and in the types of work that I do to provide me with the flexibility I will want,
• how I am going to optimize and maintain my personal health (besides golf!);
• what I can and am willing to be responsible for as my elderly parents require more care (unlike many people, I won’t have to ‘care’ for any boomerang children – those adult children that return home!);
• how I will continue to contribute to society both through my new career, and through my volunteer work, which is very important for me to maintain.

Pamela Davis
President
Work n'Well
Nepean, ON