Passion has Evolved

[WestUniversity]

Golf just doesn't do it for me anymore. A complete collapse of passion.

Agreed. I’ve got a set of custom clubs sitting in the garage collecting dust. I think a passion will eventually re-emerge. I’ve been so beaten down in recent years because of my former j*b. Currently I’m content simply to be puttering around the house and catching up on projects. I figure I’ve got another month or two of those...

 

[donothing]

I have always been a boater and motorcycle rider. Some of these posts nailed it though, lots of the passion is gone from it at 71. Keep the boat in the water at a marina and probably only go out twice a month. Harley sits in the shed and gets used about the same. Has to do with old age and lack of stress that those things used to help with as some have said.

 

[Chuckanut]

Adapt and move on. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

 

[Uncle Albert]

Life on the Lake

We have a boat dock at our "resort"/home and a 26 foot pontoon boat so we continue in retirement to boat...we have a full enclosure so we like boating in the Winter on our 33,000 acre Lake, Northeast of Atlanta (when the crazies leave the Lake)
when we bought this home 17 years ago, I stated "we would retire here" and we did, now four years into becoming funemployed...

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

After retiring, I realized that many of the activities I thought I'd want to do more of were just stress busters. And w/o the stress of work, they weren't all that appealing anymore.

But I found more than enough other things I love to do instead, and still do some of the things I did when working. It all works out, but it is different than I imagined.

-ERD50

+1. We owned a boat for several years and enjoyed it, but it was a pain...at times a HUGE PAIN. Initially it was towing it back and forth to the lake but in the last few years, had a slip that made it easier. Was happy to sell the boat (in 2012) and have only rented a pontoon a couple of times.

Flying is another thing that I *really* used to enjoy...owning my own airplane was a goal for a long time and I was happy to have been able to do it. But, that too was sold in 2013 when it became too expensive (much more expensive to own an airplane in the Atlanta area compared to San Antonio, TX!). I haven't flown a plane since and honestly, I don't miss it. I think that is because it was a fantastic stress reliever when I was w*rking.

These days, I absolutely *love* hanging around the house and doing small projects or working in the yard. Now that we have a pool, there just isn't too much of a reason to leave our small paradise. Over the last couple of months, I average leaving the house about once a week and I wouldn't have it any other way!

 

[Souschef]

I got back into flying after I retired, flying for both Angel Flight and Pilots n Paws.. The novelty wore off after a while, and I am doing a lot less flying this year. The other factor is I just turned 81, so I am concerned about diminishing skills.

 

[eba1225]

With under three years to go I am heartened, and disheartenend to hear this but probably understand why. Early on in this post I saw that when someone did something all the time they found it to be more like "work" than anything else and lost interest, but doing it occasionally one was more happy in doing the activity. So I have at least 6 items planned for retirement that I can rotate through on a daily basis so that one or two do not become "work".

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I got back into flying after I retired, flying for both Angel Flight and Pilots n Paws.. The novelty wore off after a while, and I am doing a lot less flying this year. The other factor is I just turned 81, so I am concerned about diminishing skills.

I will admit that I miss doing the Pilots n' Paws flights; I really enjoyed doing those.

Good on you for still flying at 81. A few years ago, I took my Dad up (he was 89 at the time) and while he flew many, MANY years ago (actually used to commute w/ a plane...how cool, right?) he hadn't put his hand on a yoke in a very long time. Wouldn't you know it, that he flew great? After a couple times around the windsock "shadowing" my landings, he took a couple on his own and showed me HOW it should be done. To this day, it's one of my favorite memories. Man...I sure miss him.

 

[Redbugdave]

My goals and passions have changed as well after retiring. It's funny that you think you would be the same as after retirement than before. I believe it is a normal thing to adapt and change as your environment has changed also. My passion for the outdoors has intensified beyond what I ever thought it would be when I was working. I now have the time to pursue those passions that I never got to follow because of work. It is good to be flexible and change goals as you go through life. For me these past five years, (retired with the Class of 2014), have been the best years of my life.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

When I was in college, I rode a small motorcycle. Aftter riding a friend's BMW, I wanted one.

Fast foreward 50 years. I found a beautiful classic BMW R90/6 nearby for a good price. I took a riding class and flunked the practical. My skills were lost to the point of danger. If I cannot get them back, it must go. Not giving up yet, and I may just tinker with it for a while.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

I love boating (on other people's boats). Get my 'boat fix' a couple of times a year on the WA State ferries. That is all I need.

 

[guvnerwl]

Lurker here. Couldn't resist this one. We've only been retired 6 years, but - we don't have time for anything else! Reading, writing, playing chess, yard maintenance, home maintenance, home projects, a little TV, and - we live on a lake - pontooning, fishing, jet skiing, feeding the fish, swimming in the pool, boating to restaurants, boating to church, boating to bars, working out, walking - and that's all before 5! Relaxing on the deck with an adult beverage waving at the boats cruising by listening to some music, out for dinner, maybe dinner on the deck, breakfast on the deck everyday - we're exhausted everyday. A little travel - we hate to leave here! Yeah, we live on the water - best decision we ever made. Friends and family love to visit - they vacation here! BLATANT PLUG - if you want to check out lake life, check out the blog on lakeramblings.com. I think I did get bored one day. I wasn't sure, but I went out on the boathouse deck to ponder the possibility. I took some music and a drink - and then I forgot why I had gone out there - took a nap!!! Have a great day out there! This retirement is hard work!

 

[aja8888]

When I was in college, I rode a small motorcycle. Aftter riding a friend's BMW, I wanted one.

Fast foreward 50 years. I found a beautiful classic BMW R90/6 nearby for a good price. I took a riding class and flunked the practical. My skills were lost to the point of danger. If I cannot get them back, it must go. Not giving up yet, and I may just tinker with it for a while.

FYI, I lost a good buddy in his late 50's to a motorcycle accident three years ago. He got cut off in traffic by a lady in a Honda on her phone. He dumped and broke his neck and died from internal bleeding that night. He had a helmet and was fully clothed. Accidents happen, but the older you get, the more damaging the falls can be.

Be careful on the BMW.

 

[mtnman]

I’m not sure I would call this a passion yet, but once retired I found I had the available time and energy to tackle learning to play guitar. Three years ago, I was 53 and my son 9 and we decided to both learn how to play guitar. The plan was for him to learn lead and for me to learn rhythm so we could play songs together. Today, he has near mastery of the fret board and the ability to improvise solos by ear and execute bends, slides, hammer-one and pull-offs. Me, I’m trudging along with strumming chords and doing basic fingerpicking.

It has been wonderful watching my son progress but a bit humbling to realize my learning gene had long since shut down (and my left pinky is quite useless to boot) . Thankfully my son tolerates my poor playing and we still jam a couple times a week.

Getting into guitars also led me down another path which was restoring an old Spanish guitar that was abandoned. That was fun and rewarding and something I wouldn’t have done pre-retirement. I’m now looking around garage sales to find another guitar to restore.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

FYI, I lost a good buddy in his late 50's to a motorcycle accident three years ago. He got cut off in traffic by a lady in a Honda on her phone. He dumped and broke his neck and died from internal bleeding that night. He had a helmet and was fully clothed. Accidents happen, but the older you get, the more damaging the falls can be.

Be careful on the BMW.

Thanks, aj,

I do worry about that. I have excellent strategy but poor skills these days.

I was hit by a car on my bicycle when I was a kid (my bad) and ever since I have a heightened awareness on the road. I also had several excellent defensive driving classes when I worked in wild-and-woolly Alberta (more awareness). Paranoia is my hobby. Today, I live in a small town, which helps, but ya never know. If I ain't good enough, I am getting off. I will clean it up and send it away.

Cheers,
Ed