Picking up a hobby, is especially important, now that you’re, retired, it gives you something else you can do, to focus your energies on! Translated…
I’d started worrying, a few short months back after learning that my father was about to retire, he’s so used to being in charge, will he, lose his center, now that he’s, not working anymore? I’d read up on the news or seen the broadcasting programs, on how the men in the field of business started having troubles adapting to a simpler life after they retired, and started showing signs of deterioration, becoming disconnected with the society, to even, getting diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
like this??? Photo from online…
But, my dad was, settled, comfortable, and it’d, made me wonder, what he had, up his sleeves? A week after he’d retired, as I was about to enter into the house, suddenly, I heard music playing; I was, fazed, and pushed open the front door, saw my father with a ukulele, focused, practicing. This scene had, shocked me, since I was growing up, I’d only seen him play the harmonica, and nothing else, and he’d not, sent off any signals of being interested in music either from before, and now, he’d, caught up with the trend, picked up that ukulele that the younger generations of kids are into these days!
After I’d asked him, turns out, before he retired, he’d “consulted” his former coworker who’d gone into retirement before he had, and learned, that he could take up the classes at the evergreen academy, and he’d, signed up for ukulele lessons, sketching, and acupressure.
As he’d begun taking the course, he was just as busy, compared to back when he was at work. He’d practiced his ukulele a lot, from the beginning, when he couldn’t play a tune, to now, being able to play a piece from top to bottom, and he’d also, become a performer of the Cultural Center of the city too! On the evening of his recital, all my aunts and uncles were invited, to watch his very first music recital. As it came his group’s turn, everybody all held their breathes and listened closely, seeing how he was, very focused, with his head lowered in playing the instrument, we were all, very moved, and felt that sense of pride of how our parents were, moved as we played in our recitals as young children too.
taking up a musical instrument, that’s always a good option! Photo from online…
After the recital, everybody had nothing but good things to say about my dad’s performance, it’d filled him up with that sense of achievement, he was, scheduled to do a free show for the residents of a nursing home soon! Seeing how my dad had, jam packed his retirement, I’d not only felt glad for him, I’m also in awe of his passions, his ability to learn too, which showed how “living IS learning new things!”
And so, this man knew how to plan out his own retirement, he’d, picked up a musical instrument he was interested in but didn’t have the time for when he was working, and, became the star of the show, and it’s with this sort of constantly wanting to learn, constantly improving his skills, that he’s going to, age very gracefully, keeping all the problems of the elderly years (i.e. dementia???) away!
Life, the Obstacle Course 