Shucking Oysters: Over the Hill
By Alex Allen
Hanging up your hat, put out to pasture, golden years. Merriam Webster defines retirement as the withdrawal from one’s position or active working life. For some it’s Freedom 55. For others, like me, it will be Freedom 99. What is retirement? Is it a state of stillness? A second childhood? A new chapter? Or the opportunity to live life rather than merely make a living?
Thirty-five years after her official retirement, Joyce Wilby is still the chief librarian in Alert Bay. Wilby celebrated her 100th birthday party last month at the local legion, with her two “kids,” age 70 and 73 and has no plans of quitting in the near future. In our neighbourhoods, we are surrounded by similar inspiring nonagenarians and centenarians.
Looking around it’s clear that retirement is not just one thing. It could be doing bugger all in between nursing a coffee. Cramming your days with yoga, Pilates, pickle ball, and committee memberships. Fulfilling your love for adventure by sailing off to Mexico, or buying an RV and vagabonding. Or maybe it’s an opportunity for reinvention or a new activity. Cutting the pony tail off and breeding glow worms. Winter vegetable carving, dryer lint macrame, competitive cat herding.
No matter what, retirement is a huge adjustment – sometimes painful and prolonged, but ultimately satisfying. Are you still ‘somebody’ once you no longer can answer what you do for a living? “The most challenging part was suddenly having no purpose anymore,” wrote one individual in a Reddit conversation, “You truly become irrelevant and it took me several years to find myself again.”
And then it can be the worst thing some have ever experienced. The emptiness drives many back to full- and part-time work because they simply want to; others because they simply have to. You’ve seen the folks, in their 70s working the till at retail outlets all over town. Imagine discovering in your late-70s that you don’t have enough money to retire on? It must be just as rude of an awakening as the proverbial alarm clock on a Monday morning.
Or if you are not forced back into the labour market, you are suddenly given the job description of parental caregiver. John Rowe, professor at Columbia University’s School of Public Health recalls meeting a healthy 65-year-old woman and telling her, “I’m a gerontologist.” “I should make an appointment to see you,” she replied. “I told her the average age of my patients is 89. If a 65-year-old woman comes into my office, it’s usually to discuss her mother.”
And now across the country, homeless shelters and services are seeing more elderly people turning up for help. Nick Wells, a spokesman for Union Gospel Mission in downtown Vancouver’s Eastside, cited so many examples of seniors’ going into hospital for a health issue, having an extended stay and then discovering that they’ve been evicted because they couldn’t pay the rent.
We’ve come along way from viewing retirement as the end of the road. Just look at the ads for retirement homes and communities. Instead of images of old people making crafts out of pipe cleaners, now we see grownups acting like teenagers. It’s not about counting the days. “Verve Senior Living celebrates residents’ individuality, encouraging them to embrace their authentic selves while living fully in a supportive, caring environment tailored to their unique needs.”
In his recent book Golden Years: How Americans Invented and Reinvented Old Age, James Chappel explores how ideals around old age have evolved in the US. From around 1930 to 1970, America (and Canada) faced vast social and economic challenges and government became the solution. With social security and medicare allowing millions of people for the first time, to actually look forward to a life of respite 10, 15, or 20 years after working, it was known as the era of “the senior citizen.” It was also the time – the 50s and 60s – where retirement communities and senior centres were popping up everywhere.
Then in the 70s, the US expanded benefits even further, but coupled with massive inflation, social security became extremely expensive. Followed by the austerity mindset of the 80s, older people were urged to solve problems for themselves. Neoliberalism reared its ugly head and never turned back.
When asked what’s his prediction for the next generation, Chappel stressed that there’s a difference between prediction and hope. Like many writers with depth, he feels quite pessimistic. “I think that population aging is a huge problem, but it doesn’t have to be a problem. I think it can be resolved, if there’s political energy to do so. But it’s not there right now.”
I read that mathematically, it doesn’t matter how long you live; if infinity is the denominator, any number in the numerator will equal zero. From that perspective, there is no difference in living 10 years or a 100. You may find comfort in this or get an immediate headache. And then there is “quantity” (long life) versus “quality” (significant life) – both can be equally remarkable achievements.
Palliative care physician, Sunita Puri, wrote that in our journey we need to “find freedom in the life the body offers, paying attention to the burn of grief and the pulse of joy, the intensity of an embrace or the taste of butter on toast.” The only given is that death will unravel our bodies in ways we cannot predict.
In the meantime, wouldn’t it be great if people celebrated your employment as much as your retirement?
