Joyce Wayne: Retirement Matters

In troubled times, the question is how to deal with inner fears that aren’t necessarily based on facts. I know that the chances of catching the COVID-19 virus in Canada are relatively slim, and of those who do fall ill, only 2 per cent expire, (albeit higher numbers for those 69 years of age and older). It’s still less than the death rate for the 2003 SARS epidemic.

For those of us approaching or living in retirement, it comes as no surprise that Canada is undergoing an unprecedented demographic shift. For the first time in Canada’s history, there are more people over the age of 65 than there are children under the age of 15. The very size of our cohort is creating a deluge of ideas about how to deal with people like us.

For me, the anonymous text sent to everyone in Ontario with a mobile phone on that Sunday morning was an actual wake-up call.

We’re not all destined to be poets. Still, in Governor General’s award-winning author Michael Harris’ book Solitude: a Singular Life in a Crowded World, the writer describes our society as one that embraces sharing like never before.

For the 2019 holiday season, consider letting go. Self-control might be a burden, that for a least one week in December, you can forget about.

It’s not the same as embarking on a European river cruise, but you might be surprised how good random acts of kindness can make you feel.

No one ever suggested that this was dangerous behaviour until Malcolm Gladwell published his recent number one bestselling book Talking to Strangers.

Being a member of the Canadian Legion has been a big part of Edward Tramer’s life for sixty-four years.

Most of my life, I’ve been advised to “not sweat the small stuff.” Now that I’m retired –except for writing–and searching for ways to work smarter while making life increasingly pleasant

What does it mean to grow old in Canada? How much has the profile of older Canadians changed in recent years