To Work or Not To Work...?

Retirement began, for me, in late August of 2005. I never thought I'd be any good at it because I was always a person who got the most done when there was the most to do.

Without a schedule to be met I often did nothing or... as close to nothing as possible: watched TV, read, napped, shopped, vegged. That's been the story of my life in Sarasota.

It's taken me this long to begin wishing I had somewhere productive to go and do.

I'm thinking about a job. Maybe at a hospital where there's always a bustle of activity. Or a school. It should be somewhere I could put my own special talents to work: indomitable perkiness, positive thinking, an ability to rationalize even the most outrageous situations, organizing anything and anyone, never saying die.

BUT it must also be forgiving of my less-than-sterling traits: walking into walls, singing out loud, being figuratively and literally dizzy sometimes, having memory lapses, getting lost....

At 64 I might be able to find a paying job but I'm more likely to find something as a volunteer.

A hospital volunteer sounds do-able.

I'd make an excellent greeter because I'm friendly and make a good first impression (it's only after you get to know me you begin to understand how truly demented I've become!). Or a tutor for children stuck in the hospital but still capable of doing their schoolwork. A reader for those who can't read themselves? I could push the newspaper/candy cart around the halls and chat people up as I wander.

Twenty hours a week would be plenty for me to commit to, I think.

I wonder if Sarasota Memorial is ready for me??

Think I'll stop there today and check out the possibilities. Who knows? It could be win/win for SMH and for TWJ.

Let the games begin!