Big Sir
Bevin Hong

I Thought I Was Retired…

When I retired, I had a pretty simple vision of what retirement would look like.

Sleep in.  Play some golf.  Take a few trips.  Have lunch with friends.  And, most importantly, never look at another calendar unless I was checking a tee time.

Apparently, I misunderstood retirement.

Somehow, my calendar is now filled with golf, lunches, meetings, bocce, poker, wine tasting, breakfasts, coffee, hiking, vacations—and, of course, doctor appointments.  Lots of doctor appointments.

At our age, going to the doctor is practically another SIR activity.

Primary care.  Dentist.  Dermatologist.  Cardiologist.  Ophthalmologist.  And then there are the specialists whose names we can’t pronounce for body parts we didn’t know we had.

One appointment leads to a test.  The test leads to another appointment.  And eventually someone says, “We’d like to see you again in six months.”

Great.  Something else for the calendar.

I’m beginning to wonder how I ever had time for a job.

But maybe that’s the point.

One of the best things about SIR isn’t simply that it gives us something to do.  It gives us reasons to get out of the house, places to go, and—most importantly—people to do things with.

You can always play a round of golf by yourself.  You can drink a glass of wine by yourself.  You can certainly eat breakfast by yourself.  But almost everything is better when there’s someone sitting across the table—or standing on the first tee—giving you a hard time.

So, as we head into September, try something you haven’t done before.  Join one of our activities.  Sit next to somebody different at lunch.  Invite an old friend to a SIR meeting.  Or introduce yourself to a member you don’t know very well.

At this stage of life, staying busy is good.

Staying connected is even better.

And if your calendar gets too full, congratulations.

Apparently, you’re doing retirement correctly.

Bevin Hong
Big SIR, Branch 34

Little Sir
Casey Brierley

Our speaker for September 3rd will be Dave Riensche (Doc Quack) a wildlife biologist at East Bay Regional Parks and biology and ecology professor at Las Positas College.

The title will be “Protecting and reviving endangered bird species at EBRPD”.

If you’re a nature lover you don’t want to miss this talk about the work they are doing in the bay to help protect the birds.

Casey

Activities Chairman
Peter Weeks

Peter Weeks
pweeks6166@gmail.com
925-353-0234