Bill Speer

A friend and I were talking about retirement the other day.

He was seeking some advice as he contemplates what that passage of life might look like for he and his family down the road. I gladly shared with him my thoughts and recommendations, but that conversation triggered another question in my own life.

If I was evaluating my retirement, how would I grade it?

The answer is harder than you think. Naturally you hope to be objective in your answer, but I believe most of us would have a hard time not allowing some bias and prejudice to creep into our own evaluation.

I remember years ago when I first set out on this retirement passage of life listening to Scott Miller of Hixon Zuercher address the Findlay Rotary Club on “making the most out of your retirement.” He definitely captured my attention.

Over the years since I have visited with Scott, who is a life coach with the firm, as he and I attend the same church and he has put together presentations there as well. Visiting with Scott you learn a lot about topics like maturity, forgiveness, service and legacy.

As part of Scott’s promotional materials explain, he looks to help people “find balance and purpose in their lives.”

So how would I evaluate my retirement to date? Initially I gave myself a B-plus/A-Minus evaluation. As I pondered some of Scott’s teachings and directions that I have gleaned over the years, I settled in on a very strong B-plus.

I am convinced, and I believe any expert would quickly agree, that staying active is the most important foundation of any retirement plan.

For me, that activity not only involves physical activitiy, but mental and spiritual activity as well.

While I try to make the gym several days a week to work out, I also make sure I challenge myself each day with brain games from my phone. I have specific goals on one of a couple brain games, and I won’t quit until the goals are achieved.

I read for pleasure and I read to stay engaged with the news around me. In addition to a book I will be reading for pleasure in the evenings, I scour news sources daily for the latest news and information. I have five to six main news sources I draw information from each day.

And, I read consistently scriptures from the Bible for inspiration, education and keeping me grounded and humble.

By moving to a new area to live in retirement, Diane and I knew that developing a new friend network would be important for our happiness. Getting active in area activities — particularly church — was a key to make that happen. As a result we have made some amazing new friends that we’ve added to our forever friends in Alpena. Couple that with regular involvement with all our family members and life seems pretty fulfilling.

In fact, both Diane and I got very involved in our church, Living Hope, and that has been such a blessing in keeping us active and growing in our faith.

I also have been fortunate to still keep my hand in writing, a passion I have enjoyed for most of my life. Today my column can appear in five different newspapers. The writing allows me to stay connected with newspapers, which I love so much.

They say an editor’s blood runs ink black rather than red, and I wouldn’t doubt it.

Overall, I am pleased at the end of each day as I reflect back over it. Retirement may not be perfect, but I am striving to grow more each day.

I believe my retirement life has purpose and meaning.

And because of that, I consider myself blessed indeed.

Bill Speer retired in 2021 as the publisher and editor of The News. He can be reached at bspeer@thealpenanews.com.