Finding work again after your retirement, surely, there would be, bumps, but, you’d, found a job that fitted to your interests the best, translated…
After I retired, there was a very long period of time I’d lived on, leisurely, I’d gotten up at five in the morn, head out for my exercises, after breakfast, I’d, watered my garden, pull up the weeds that were growing, then, read the papers, and write, and in th afternoons, I’d gone out to the local parks, or to exercise in the fields of local schools, in the evenings, I’d, chased those soaps, and, that was, the end of my day. Unlike how I’d had to catch the trains of nine-to-five, plus my overtime from before, getting chased every second of the days, and now, time is, in my hands, for me to use however way I wanted to.
At first, I’d felt rested, and well, felt the wonders of slow living. But, two years later, I’d felt something lacking, that there was, that sense of, imbalance in me, and I’d, become, tired, by this sort of a schedule I’d kept, and, messed up thoughts started peeking out into my mind, do I travel abroad? To work as a volunteer? To find other work opportunities? This latter seemed to have the most appeals to me, but I couldn’t help but noted, the close connection of life and work.
And yet, I’m, past midlife, and, work wasn’t easy to find, after the few interviews I’d had, it’d felt like that rollercoaster ride, up and down, up and down.
I’d recalled how I’d gotten to the interview at a fast-food restaurant, I’d felt very panicky. The interviewer was a young woman, around my daughter’s age, she’d asked me a ton of basic questions, told me about the duties of the position I was applying for. At that very moment, two sides were pulling in me, should I show that I desperately needed this job? Or, should I, show the interviewer why I needed this job?
As I’d contemplated, I’d, started, thinking really hard about each and every question the interviewer was asking me, and naturally, as you may have imagined, I’d not received the call back. Or maybe, she’d felt, that I’m already aging, that I couldn’t, adapt myself to the fast paced work environment of the fast-food restaurants, or maybe, she thought that I wouldn’t, last. Anyway, that first failed attempt made me feel depressed for quite a long time, and, I’d found what I’d done wrong, and collected up my emotions, and started, going to interviews again.
I’d decided to start in the field where I was trained in, checked in the positions that opened up in the educational realm, preschool teachers, afterschool program teachers, counseling school students on their homework assignments, these are the areas I was, most adept in, and, before I’d gone to my next interview, I’d felt, more secure.
The manager of the afterschool program who’d interviewed m in that first afterschool program I’d gone for an interview in, was a very skilled woman, with that seriousness about her, asked me a series of questions, to make sure I have all the credentials I say that I have, I’d felt, that “there’s no chance” for me in the interviews. But why do I feel that way? Perahps, I’d instinctively believed, that I was the one, interviewing from before, and I’d, come to take close note of the tones of voices.
The second afterschool program, the managers were a young couple, with pleasant smiles, and they’d made me feel very welcomed. In the conversations, I’d understood the differences between working in a cram school versus in a school setting, other than keeping up with children’s school work, we’d also, needed to, match up to the parents’ expectations of their young, the children’s performances must be in the top five of the class, etc., etc., etc., and, I’d felt, that children now are under great pressure, that the adults’ pressures paled by comparison to theirs.
This time, I’d had a successful interview, the manager wanted me to start as a part-time worker, after I get acquainted to how the place functioned, then, I can become a full-time employee, as I’d heard up to here, yippee! I’d gotten a job, and, it’d, fazed me how getting a job can make me so very ecstatic, I’d, smiled like a fool all the way home, and my family didn’t even need to ask me how my interview went, it was all, written on my face!
Starting back up in work again, it’s, nerve-wrecking, fresh, scary. I’d prepared the lesson plans every single day, and not letting exercise and my own writing slide, my days are now, busy and fulfilled. I’d found that balance in my life again, and cherished this brand new second start of my work career too.
It feels so amazing, to get this brand new, second start in my life!
And so, this, is the story of a work-a-holic, after you’d, retired, you’d gotten bored with nothing to do, and you’d, started, going to interviews to find a job, and, you finally had, found a job that is closest to your value systems in education, and that is what will drive you to work now: not the wages but because you want to work.