Dear LPG, 

I think that if ever a person between the ages of 15 and 35 thinks about getting to retirement age, one overriding aspect of the life they are living at that time will often force them to do so with a feeling of longing. When they think of the complicated lives that they live, where there is so often no time to do anything properly, the idea of having so little to do must be pretty tempting.

I remember being in my thirties and having many a conversation with workmates about the freedom that has to come with having so few time-related commitments and restrictions to have to adhere to. 

When looking at it from the perspective of time management, my friends and I would see our grandparents as those with the time to be the most relaxed that they will ever be during their whole lifetimes.  

And now that I have arrived, I hear my younger grandchildren, who are facing the traumas of school examinations. The younger members of my family, who are trying to please their bosses and meet deadlines, mention how lucky I am and that they look forward to a time when they can have all day to do whatever they want to. One of my granddaughters tells me that she will spend her days being as lazy as takes her fancy while not needing to bother about very much at all, but, like all other young people, she has a lot to learn about retirement, and I keep telling her that her time will come.

We retired people are usually still quite busy, especially when you factor in that we get slower, and it gradually takes longer to get things done. Her comments remind me of how quickly we humans adapt to our circumstances. You would think that the lockdown years might have taught us a bit about the disadvantages of having nothing to do, but only a year or two since that all ended, it has all been forgotten.  

Those who end up with nothing to do, perhaps, have become a bit reclusive. Some will have physical reasons for not having more full lives, and loneliness plays a big part in people’s appetites for keeping busy.   I think that any of the pensioners reading will agree that the situations I just mentioned are often those that contribute to overthinking, and if doing that comes into play, finding more things to do is something that many over-thinkers wish for.  

When those busy young relatives hint at how jealous they are of the time we oldies have on our hands, it is worth mentioning that having nothing to do is as overrated as having too much to occupy our lives. 

CL, Lewisham

CL makes an electronic suggestion…  

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