Dear LPG

I'm curious if to know I am alone in this or if other retired people feel the same way.  Once I had retired and, after the first few months had gone by, I realised that I was getting a bit lazy.  I think it was all about the disappearance of urgency in my life. It is ironic that I would miss getting up each morning and going to work. Still, I soon realised that it was the absence of needing to do things by a specific time, or at all, that caused me to get to a stage where, barring eating and watching television, I didn’t do much.  It did not take me long to realise that you can get too much rest and relaxation, which can become tiresome.  

For a few months, I started to live life with the attitude that I could see what needed to be done, but when I thought about it, I would take a look and decide that there was no rush because there would always be tomorrow.

I found myself doing very little for a while, and I got to the point where, when I was invited to go anywhere, the effort of getting ready was enough to put me off.  

I mentioned this to a neighbour I have talked to during the years that we have lived next door to each other. We used to nod at each other as we left for work back in the day, but over the years, the nods became ‘Hellos,’ and we gradually began to talk a little more.   

Over the years, I have learnt that she also lives alone, and we have talked about what it was like when she first retired.  More recently, she must have read between the lines during the longer chats we could have over the fence when work did not get in the way. She made it her mission to become that annoying person who was always knocking at my door and leaving me with no reason not to pop to the shops, invite her in for a cup of tea and a chat or go to a club or a class with her.

Without her intervention, I would have become one of the world’s apathetic pensioners.  She would tell me that apathy leads to depression, and I think that she was right. Having been there, I believe it can be even easier to notice that lack of routine when someone else talks about it.

I asked LPG to post this message for two reasons. 

Firstly, I would like to thank that neighbour, who I now count as a good friend, for persisting until she got me busy again.

… secondly, I would like to call upon any pensioner who has a bit of spare time and who knows someone who is newly retired and getting a bit too lazy for their good to become a bit of a pest.  One thing they can do is be that pesky neighbour or friend who picks on just one other person who perhaps appears to need a few more things to do with their days and invites them to do so many things that they have no more excuses to stay in.    

DN, Lee