Now that I have reached retirement age, am I still of any use?
Over the years, I have been discarded by a variety of people, who have decided that I am no longer of use to them.
I am of a generation where all of our lives should be spent trying to be useful. It is our duty. Help around the house, earn cash, feed the family, mind the kids, fix the leaky tap.
At church I was told God made me to serve him. Do good works, donate a tithe, spread the word
At work I tried to earn my place in the sun. Advise the boss, plan for the future, keep records, help the team, produce results, mentor the new kids on the block.
Judgment often was that I was bloody useless at many of these tasks. I mightn’t have been a super star, but I reckon I might have been some value around places where I found myself.
Comes retirement age, and the supporting twig of purpose gets cut from under our feet. The kids are out on their own, society doesn’t want a burden of paying yesterdays heroes.
So, many who have been kicked out of home, or evicted from their place of work, are now left floundering trying to find purpose in our remaining lives. Some of us have been shrewder than others, we spend our remaining days trying to be carefree kids again. There are those who can afford to be servants to our own wants and fancies: grey nomads, sea changers, hobby farmers. That’s OK if you’ve got a sweet little nest egg. People will tolerate some selfish behaviour from elders who have assets, because there’s possibly of some profit in return for charity.
But for most of us, there’s more than a chance we will become merely a duty, a burden on our families or our communities when we stop being useful.
I think that’s why so many people when they pass retirement age but are still fit, volunteer for unpaid work, or accept child minding with grandkids, or take up hobbies like line dancing or accept menial work like being a lollipop monitor at the crossing by the school gates. Just to feel useful. We just want to feel that we are doing something functional, rather than being a problem for future generations.
What’s the answer – perhaps a stimulus package for the aged. Not increased pensions for doing nothing, but an funding an organization that can generate paid jobs for old folk.
At present older workers are treated something like illegal immigrants – the next generation argue that if we stay at work we are taking jobs away from younger people who deserve the work.
Huh! At least we can still do mental arithmetic, and remember the morality of a good days work for a good day’s pay.