The element that is often left out of retirement planning is the quality of time. People are living longer. The period of retirement has gone from being short, maybe about five years, to much longer. We have the time. What about the quality?
Notice the title. This is your time, and what will you do with it? As we ask at Seniors Junction, “What are you retiring into?” Stebbins is an emeritus professor who has spent his entire research career defining and investigating what he calls “serious leisure.” Watching television is a leisure activity, but it is not engaging. You can’t get better at it. You’ve been a Master of Television-watching for years. It doesn’t give you purpose. It doesn’t bring you satisfaction.
Paul retired, moved, and lost his wife in the space of a few short months. He had to find new purpose. Retirement is touted as a reward for working hard, all that free time! But how are we going to use it? After all, working life gave us a lot. Marriage gave us a lot. And when that’s lost…. We think this workbook is useful. He wrote it for people who find themselves in his position.
Not all retirees have children. Not all widows, widowers, or divorce(e)s remarry or find new partners. What about a guidebook for people aging alone? Geber’s book is designed for these people. And if your parent is single, are their children really filling every moment of their time, or do they have a lot of alone time? Loneliness does not make for quality time.
There are many reasons one would choose to age at home. Autonomy is one. The community may be better than a residence. Price can be a factor. Lifestyle is perhaps the biggest consideration. Most of the seniors age at home. There may be a necessity for assisted living. At the same time, many seniors find that they can get the assistance they need in their own homes.
We believe you deserve to choose whether to live in your own home or in another environment. This book is filled with practical suggestions to make a senior’s home safe. Many accidents can be prevented with simple “house hacks.” This is a must-read for someone ageing at home or someone with a parent in that situation.
This is a beautiful book. It is easy to see that this relationship inspired the author to research and implement everything in his book on Ageing Safely. Lots of us are in the position of looking out for a parent who is ageing, living alone, and perhaps not well. What is that relationship like? What is it like as we juggle responsibilities (perhaps for spouse and parent)? This book may bring a few tears but will amply repay the effort of reading it.
Debbie Howard has extensive practical experience as a Caregiver, and she is an advocate for adults who are juggling their compassion for family members with their working lives. The following two books by her are on our list:
The title describes this book well. Anyone who cares for someone knows it is a journey. And any of us would be glad for guidance and inspiration. We wish this book had been available for us to read earlier. We are glad it is published now. Debbie Howard has been a guest on the Seniors Junction podcast and her suggestions and stories are inspiring.
This book is aimed at employers. Collectively they lose huge sums of money each year because of the burden of caregiving that their employees suffer. If you are an employer, you know this. If you are a caregiver, you know how caring for a loved one makes an impact on every aspect of your life, including your working life.
It is easier to navigate the confusing landscape of retirement living if one understands it. Then we can “follow the trail of breadcrumbs” and get, unlike Hansel and Gretel, to a good place. As individuals we have different needs and preferences. Understanding our choices in retirement living lets us choose between options.
Dying is a part of life, but knowing that doesn’t make it easy. Volunteers who assist with end-of-life care are in many ways the unsung heroes of health care. They fill a need that few of us could manage. Mundle is an expert who brings his knowledge and long experience in the field in a readable, reasonable way. A dying person needs to be listened to.
Hey, we practise what we preach. As the co-founders of Seniors Junction we take our leisure seriously!
This is an imaginative, heartfelt, expressive collection of Namrata’s poetry. Readers will enjoy it thoroughly. Just as importantly, they may be inspired to write their own poems. Seniors Junction has held a how-to session on Haiku, a good genre to start. Get someone started on their own poetry or start yourself!
Film music is one of Paul Merkley's areas of research, and for several years he taught a successful, well subscribed to university course on film music for a mixed audience of music students and (mostly) non-music majors. You don’t need any prior knowledge of music. Read about the effects of music on and in film and compare it with your own experience!
William Randall, professor of narrative gerontology is an expert on listening to someone’s story and telling one’s own. There is great wisdom in our narratives, and there can be errors too. Retirement is a time of life when we remember when we put the whole story together. It’s important to get that narrative right. This pair of books is very valuable to help us understand and articulate those memories.
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Randall brings his expert knowledge and long experience to the writing of our own stories and the art of listening to the stories of others.
Some call retirement the “third half of life, the half you didn’t plan for.” Certainly, we could all use some wisdom to make the most of it. As children, we prepare for and engage life through stories. As seniors we can do the same. There is wisdom in narrative and this book is helpful for all, especially for those who do not wish to write their own stories but understand that stories are important.
We have curated a list of technology products to help you kickstart your lifelong learning journey with us.
Memory storage capacity 64 GB
Screen size 10.9 Inches
Display resolution maximum 2360 x 1640 Pixels
Series SM-X200NZAEXAC
Memory storage capacity 64 GB
Screen size 10.5 Inches
Display resolution maximum 1920x1200 Pixels
Wireless Headphones with Microphone
Colour Black/Gold
Form factor Over-Ear
Connectivity technology Wireless
Wireless communication technology Bluetooth