A Time for Stairs

I’ve previously commented on what menopause does to muscle tone. The phrase “use it or lose it,” personifies certainly my body’s experience over the last ten years. I was aware of the need to take care of myself in a more concerted effort and embarked on a journey to find an exercise regime that I enjoyed. Growing up I was the kid who was always last…

After a number of gym memberships, classes at the rec center, I found a yoga instructor on t.v. that I liked and committed to thirty minutes a day. In addition, my husband and I walk two times a day for about mile each. Not strenuous, but it gets outside the heart pumps for a few minutes.

About six months ago, I did something to my shoulders. It has been diagnosed as bursitis, but so far has not improved. I can’t raise either arm above my shoulder and if I move in a certain way, there is a searing pain that runs through my shoulders. As a result, I stopped doing my yoga. While yoga didn’t build muscle, I felt like I wasn’t losing ground. Since then, it’s been a race against time to see if I’m going to heal before I turn into a mass of cellular mush.

My husband and I are currently staying at a time-share in Northern Carolina. I will share our week as we explore the area as a tourist and as a potential place to retire.

Our condominium is two stories. At first, I was hesitant about the stairs. After the red eye from LA to Atlanta yesterday, the last thing I wanted to do was bounce up and down stairs. As I sat upstairs in the living room so my husband could take a nap downstairs in the bedroom, it occurred to me that stairs is exactly what I need in my life right now.

Because, there were so many exercises I couldn’t do in yoga, I stopped even though there isn’t anything wrong with my legs. The walking every day is okay, but doesn’t push muscle development.

For the next seven days, those stairs are my friend. Up and down I go. It may be a strange place to start a vacation journey, but it’s what you get on Saturday morning.

Adult Seniors Seek Retirement Income Security

In last Sunday’s paper, I read a nationally syndicated columnist address the issue of part time income in retirement. He confirmed organizations that offer to set you up in business for a small fee are usually scams and should be avoided. The columnist then suggested the solution was to find a part time job doing retail. This solution to part time income was both limited and inane. First of all, retail has been hit hard in the recent economic down turn, so it’s just not a viable option for quick short term money.

Retirees make up a broad group of people with a wide range of skills and talents. As they have watched their savings plummet over the last few months, many retiring baby boomers and persons older are looking for retirement work. Some need to augment their retirement income security. Many active adult seniors are looking for ways to turn activities, hobbies and other interests into ways to increase retirement pay.

Over the next few days, I am going to compile resources so the new senior can generate income through either part time jobs (working for someone else) or starting a part time business. There are amazing activities, seniors have engaged to create new retirement careers. Some have found interesting ways to be of service to others, turn adult homemade crafts into salable products, or shift a passion into a way of making money.

Please share websites, books, experts and examples of how retired people work to increase their income. I’m looking for creative examples; turning hobbies into income, earning money while contributing, income while traveling, project based or part time work. I’m looking for examples of what people can do, not how to get a job or start a business.