You can get it by Christmas! Last minute gifts + RUSH delivery

As the days count down to Christmas, my inbox fills up with emails from retailers offering RUSH delivery and last minute gift ideas. If you’re like me, you know it’s easy to get caught up in a shopping frenzy, feeling pressure to find the perfect gift for each person on your list.

So, with three shopping days remaining, I’ve decided to change my mindset about giving. Instead of things, I’ve decided to share one of my most precious presents—the gift of time. I experienced the value of this gift last week when my sister and I drove to NH to clean our dad’s house for the holidays. As we were eating lunch together I thought, “No gift is better than sharing a meal together and showing our love by cleaning his home.” We could have paid someone to clean his house. Instead, we gave a priceless gift—our time.

In retirement, we have the freedom to choose how we spend our time. And we have enough of it to give generously. Instead of spending it shopping for the perfect present, try being present with someone who might be lonely during the holidays. Instead of making cookies, give your partner attention by making love. For the young parents on your list, offer to babysit overnight. Believe me, this gift will mean more than another argyle sweater or merchandise card.

Regardless of how prepared we are financially for retirement, most of us can generously give away our time. No RUSH delivery or last minute discount needed.

Copyright 2017. Patrice Jenkins. All Rights Reserved.

Living Whimsically

Who would travel 3,641 miles to cook Thanksgiving dinner in a country where you’re not even sure you can buy a fresh turkey? I know this sounds crazy. It sounded crazy to us too, which is why when I was looking at flights, I assured Dave, “I’m just playing.”

This crazy idea came up because our son, Steven, and his business partner, Lance, have been awarded a startup grant to pursue their interest in bringing technology to the houseplants industry. They’re not living and working a few hours from home. They’re not even living and working on this continent. Dave and I were talking about cooking Thanksgiving dinner in Holland! When we learned the cost of a round-trip ticket from NYC to Amsterdam was under $500, we said “why not?” 

Other than having our son pre-order a fresh turkey from the local  Dutch poulterer (a butcher who focuses on the sale of poultry), and slipping a can of cranberry sauce between sweaters in our suitcase, we made no advance preparations. Instead, Thursday morning we walked into the city in search of the best cheeses, breads, vegetables, desserts and flowers. No rush. Discovery was part of the experience. Once back at the apartment, we found ways to prepare the food with a sparsely stocked kitchen. (Butternut squash cooks quite well on an aluminum lined oven rack.) Everyone got in on the preparations. No American football to watch on the BBC or CNN channels.

Over the years I’ve hosted many Thanksgiving dinners, spending weeks in advance looking for creative decorating and menu ideas. And yet, this Thanksgiving, with no preparation or linen napkins, was extra special. Why? Because we experienced what Bob Goff, author of Love Does, calls whimsical living—being creative, impulsive, playful and unpredictable.

Goff believes most people plan to live a life full of whimsy, but he says, “along the way they just kind of forget.” He encourages us to “find a place where the stuff of imagination, whimsy and wonder are easier to live out.”

I believe retirement is the “easier place” to live whimsically. Freedom and unstructured time allow us to be more creative and impulsive. We don’t have to take ourselves too seriously. We don’t have to prove ourselves; we’ve already done that. (My family knows I can produce a nearly perfect Thanksgiving dinner.) Living whimsically opens doors to discovery and surprise, where we’re fully engaged in living.

What can you do to experience the joy of whimsical living? 

Copyright 2017. Patrice Jenkins. All rights reserved.

Living Engaged

I’m driving home from Boston when my iPhone pings, pings again, and once again. Must be something important so I pull over at the next rest stop. The message is from my son. Three images, no text. I zoom in. I think I see a diamond on her finger. I write back, “Is this what I think it is?”

Yes, we’re engaged! Call you later.

News travels fast. Within 24-hours we receive phone calls and emails from friends congratulating us on our son’s engagement. Everyone loves to share in the joy of a newly engaged couple.

Fortunately the excitement of being engaged isn’t limited to a marriage proposal. Author Bob Goff reminds us that, “Being engaged is a way of life, a way of living and loving.” Perhaps a good place to learn about living engaged is to think back to what it felt like to be newly engaged.

Dream Big. You don’t enter marriage with the thought that your life with this person will be good enough. Instead, you make big plans for your future together. You imagine the best and are willing to put forth the energy to make it happen. Retirement is no different. Just because you might be downsizing some areas of your life, don’t downsize your dreams.

Totally Committed. Before you propose marriage, you feel a need to protect yourself incase things don’t work out. You have one foot in, one foot out. Once you’re engaged, you’re all in. Totally committed. Do the same when designing your retirement engagement. By getting involved in significant projects, committing your time and talents to meaningful organizations, and investing in authentic relationships, you experience life fully engaged.

Involve Others. Newly engaged couples express feeling excitement and bliss when they share their news with loved ones, friends, and coworkers. “Hearing that our loved ones were just as excited about our decision only served to reinforce my own happiness.” Share your engaged-life with others. Expand your social networks. Share your dreams and goals. Soon you’ll find that they want to add logs to your fire—supporting and encouraging you to live fully engaged. Do the same for them.

Experience Wonder and Comfort. Engagement brings a sense of wonder that you can spend so much time together, see each other at your best and worst, and still feel prepared to build a life together. There’s comfort in the fact that this person, your very favorite person, reciprocates the depth of feelings that you have for him or her. Where can you find wonder and comfort in retirement? Be curious, open to new experiences, and approach life as a great adventure—fully engaged to life and with life.

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Copyright 2017. Patrice Jenkins. All Rights Reserved.

A Bigger Garden

My husband’s 92-year-old uncle was on hospice care. He had lived a great life. Done several things that many of us only talk about doing—started a new business, hiked the Appalachian Trail, appeared in movies and advertisements, won awards at the NC State Fair for his photography, chutney, and jams—all after the age of 65.

Even though Uncle Tom’s family had no expectation of him living another year, he had other plans. At our recent visit he said, “Next year I’m going to plant a bigger garden.” Tom wasn’t delirious. His body simply was worn out. He really did want to increase the size of his garden. I suppose he woke up in the morning thinking about heirloom tomatoes and rows of sunflowers. Uncle Tom believed in expanding his life, even when the end appeared imminent. He passed away two weeks later.

Retirement is often viewed as a time to downsize, expect less, and gradually slow down. People expect us to “act our age.” If we suggest something BIG, they think we’re confused or fantasizing. They chuckle behind our backs. 

Why think about a bigger garden? And yet, why not?

I’ve decided to follow Uncle Tom’s example—to plant “bigger gardens” through my attitude and actions, and experience life as an ongoing adventure. 

How about you? What will be your “bigger garden?”

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Copyright 2017. Patrice Jenkins. All Rights Reserved.

Back at the Wheel

At art festivals you’ll find me intently observing a potter at the wheel. I’m mesmerized for hours as the artist works the clay, drawing it up and back down. Starting with nothing and ending up with a beautiful bowl that has her touch, her fingerprints, her distinct design.

My interest in watching other potters led me to believe that I’d like to learn how to make pottery. I thought I’d love to work with clay and create beautiful bowls. Even more than making pottery, I wanted to look beautiful while making pottery, like the pictures that often appear in magazines of an attractive woman at the wheel with lovely bowls and other pieces stacked on the shelves behind her. The lighting is perfect. The bowl is perfect. Her hair is perfect.

I thought if I could experience this, I could be passionate about making pottery, which is why I signed up for a 7-week pottery class. And then another 7-weeks. And after that, yes, another 7-week class. I didn’t keep signing up because I was feeling passionate about making pottery. In fact, when the instructor asked me if I loved making pottery, I said, “I want to love making pottery.” Until now, I was mostly frustrated and discouraged. I didn’t have much to show for my time and expense. So, after finishing up three 7-week classes, I decided that pottery is not my passion. 

When I speak to audiences about planning for retirement, people often say, “If I was passionate about something, then I’d know what to do in retirement.” People feel pressured to find a passion, and fast. The problem is, for most of us, passion doesn’t happen fast.  In fact, scientific research suggests passion can’t happen fast.

For some subjects, passion only surfaces after gaining a certain level of skill. Once we get further along on the learning curve, then we can experience a psychological state referred to as flow, where we are fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. That’s what I want—to be so absorbed in the process of making pottery that I lose track of time and all that’s going on around me. I want to emerge from the experience feeling refreshed and revitalized.

Other potters tell me, “It’s hard, until it’s easy.” Not much in-between time. I’m still at hard. But knowing that passion only comes after I gain more experience and skill encourages me to keep at it. To get back on the wheel—to give pottery a second chance to become a passion.

Retirement is a perfect time to pursue new interests. But don’t be fooled into thinking that the first time you try something, you’ll find your passion. Sometimes you only need to be passionate about the idea and keep showing up to the work. Then one day what was hard and frustrating may become rewarding and engaging. You may have found your passion.

Copyright 2017. Patrice Jenkins. All Rights Reserved.