Andrei Codrescu

I have a friend, a medical professional, whose life is harried: too much to do, too much stress. Retiring means leaving all that behind, yes? But I have friends who are retired, and some of them seem harried too: too much to do, never catching up, too much stress. How can that be? I had wondered about this long before the thought of my own retirement entered my mind. A year or so ago I heard Andrei Codrescu, well-known author and former English professor, talk on NPR about his retirement -- about his "crazy idea" that in retirement he would have time to do all the reading he had long wanted to do. Instead, he said, "I discovered something: Hundreds of jobs that you never did when you had a more or less regular job are waiting patiently for you to retire. And the minute you do, they pounce on you." Read his whole piece; it's humorous but still discouragingly (to me at least) entitled, "In Retirement, No Time for Free Time."

I was determined not to let that happen, but I wasn't sure how to prevent it. Then, a college friend -- my long-ago bridesmaid -- offered a suggestion. That, however, is for tomorrow's (or maybe Mondays') post.