Retirement, a shift in perspective and/or emphasis...

Why do people retire? What is retirement? How do you "do"it? There are probably as many answers to these questions as there are people. Do we in the US look at this time of life differently than other countries? Are we in the US going to be able to continue to live this part of our life as our parents and grandparents have been able to live? Do I want to live the way they lived? Am I retiring to play golf, be a snow bird, travel, play with grandchildren? Getting down to reality, how much money do I need to live on in retirement? Wouldn't you like to have all the answers? There are answers out there to a lot of these questions and there are lots of ways to plan for retirement years. All you have to do is look for them.
It is said that "this generation" (I missed being a boomer by a couple of years) is the healthiest, wealthiest and best educated generation ever. http://www.finishers.org/core.php What an opportunity we have in retirement! What a challenge we have in doing all we want to do and make a difference in the way we live our lives. That difference may be in honing a skill or hobby, learning a language, using what you've learned in the secular world, spending more time with grandkids to help instill those qualities you'd like to leave for the future generation. These ideas help us keep in touch with the present generation and perhaps help our aging process, or at least slow it down. This is a time when we can truly give back some of those years of experiences we acquired. Where you give back is your choice.