Start A Hobby In Retirement
You probably know that I hate that “B” word (boring) and I have trouble believing anyone can be bored in life. But, if you find yourself with too much time on your hands, my advice to you is to start a hobby in retirement. You won’t believe how it changes your outlook and your entire life. Now I can understand how people can become a little restless in the winter, especially if you live up north and can’t escape the cold. Football is over, your friends are away, and you begin searching for something to do. I personally do not have that problem because I can get lost in any number of great books still on my list to read or even re-read. I get it. You’re tempted to let that “B” word slip into your vocabulary. Don’t do it! Get a hobby instead!
Hobbies are wonderful stealers of time. If you have an interest (especially if it’s creative even in the slightest way) you can spend hours working and not know where the day went. Before you know it, it’s time for dinner. This becomes even more true if you are working with someone on a little project or part of a club where the members share what they’re working on. It can become almost like a brainstorming session and it’s fun to watch the enthusiasm build and the jokes start flying. Starting a hobby can mean creating a new circle of friends where you learn new things together. But, even if you enjoy your hobby by yourself, it can still be a way to bring a new sense of fulfillment into your life and stimulate your brain. Don’t hesitate to follow an interest that you have or may have had in your youth
A friend of ours rekindled his interest in model trains. He enjoyed them in his youth and our family did as well. Every Christmas the train set would come out and it got be a very involved process eventually taking over a bedroom from Thanksgiving to New Year’s. Setting up the train tracks was the easy part. The scenery that became part of the layout attracted every kid in the neighborhood. My parents were the ones who created each scene. A row of stores with shoppers walking the streets, a farm with cows and sheep and even a miniature coal mine with workers transferring coal from the mine to the engine of the train. We found it to be quite intricate and fascinating and that is exactly what happened to our friend.
His train layout takes up his entire basement and although the tracks are finished, the scenery is only about halfway done. He’s having the time of his life, and he shares pictures of his latest little project with the same pride that a parent or grandparent does with their new baby. He can’t believe it took him that long to start a hobby in retirement. In his case, he revisited a lost pastime and has gained a new purpose in life, especially in the winter. Summer is still occupied with golf and fishing but once the cold snap comes through, you’ll find him hard at work on his ever-growing train layout. New ideas come to him all the time and technology has changed this hobby a great deal from the time he was a kid. His latest idea is to attach a camera to the engine and film the whole trip. When the train goes up the mountain he sculpted, he’s planning to have a backdrop that shows a valley down below. Will it look like the real thing? Maybe, but who cares? He’s enjoying himself immensely and when you walk into his house he can’t wait for you to mention “the trains” because the next thing you know you’re downstairs looking at his latest addition.
Why not start a hobby in Retirement?
Why can’t that be you? Why can’t you start a hobby in retirement and find a new interest? It doesn’t have to be trains but if it’s something creative, you’ll be surprised at what happens when you let yourself go and get lost in your new hobby. Knitting, crocheting and quilting are wonderful hobbies that can produce a product that you’ll love to show off. Some people get so good, they actually sell their creations. And they should. Some of those little projects take dozens of hours to complete and months to learn all the skills needed to look as professional as they do. Some of these hobbies used to be professions a hundred or more years ago. One trip to Williamsburg Colonial Village will open up a new world when you see all the things done by hand. Soap making, shoe making, dress and hat making might lead you to find a new hobby or interest.
When you see someone who decided to start a hobby in retirement and then became quite skilled at it, it can be very inspirational to examine your “inner self” to see if there’s some creative spark there. There’s a home in our community with a beautiful stained-glass window that is absolutely stunning when the sun hits it. Someone made that work of art and it must be tremendously satisfying when they get compliments on it. You can get that same sense of fulfillment through cooking, baking, photography, painting, woodworking or even wine making. Why not focus on one interest and become determined to master the craft? Many people who start a hobby in retirement say it’s the best thing that they ever did. Why not give it a try? Don’t let that “B” word sneak up on you. Find a new interest. It's time to Enjoy Retired Life!
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