Have Fun - Retirement Rhythms
After seven years of retirement, we’ve watched our days evolve in surprising ways. We started out determined to exercise regularly, travel with our trailer, and see family and friends—activities that have transformed over time into our unique retirement rhythms. Adapting to these changes brings daily fulfillment.
Daily Routines
Our mornings are relaxed and flexible, each of us enjoying personal routines. As our interests shifted, afternoons became a mix of crafting, errands, projects, or relaxation. Our exercise now fits wherever it works best, reflecting the need for flexibility as new hobbies emerge.
Our Personal Experience
I love my mornings! Time for morning coffee, devotionals and stretches and aerobic exercise. My husband sleeps in a little later and enjoys his quiet time prior to lunch.
Unless we have an early appointment, (which we try to avoid), or a lunch engagement we get our day together started by going to lunch.
Early in retirement, we would come home from lunch and go to a park to hike, ruck in our neighborhood or go on a long bike ride. Now, we may do some crafting, run errands, take on a home project or just relax, especially in the summer when we can enjoy the outdoors.
We eventually get our daily exercise routine in, it just doesn’t always happen right after lunch. We love the idea that our day is predictable but still flexible for us to do whatever we choose.
New Hobbies
We share and pursue individual hobbies, from woodworking and gardening to Bible study and camping. Trying new activities keeps us engaged, and there are always more hobbies than hours. Retirement is full of opportunities for learning and growth.
Our Personal Experience
We entered retirement with numerous shared hobbies as well as hobbies we enjoy on our own. My husband loves woodworking and tinkering in his workshop. He loves the outdoors and exercise has always been a part of his daily routine. Reading and Bible study are also on his favorites list. Two years after we retired, we built a two-car detached garage which gave my husband his dream workshop in one of the bays – he loves spending time out there – creating with his lathe, laser engraver and other tools.
I love gardening, crafting, reading and studying the Bible. Exercise is a big part of my daily routine and yes, I consider it a hobby! I just feel so much better with exercise as a part of my day.
We both love camping, home renovations, hiking, antiquing, exploring the country in our camper – but we both love being home too!
We love trying new hobbies – learning is growing – and we don’t always embrace every new hobby we explore, but it is so much fun to try something new. When people say, “I just don’t know what I will do in retirement”, we are amazed! We don’t have enough hours in our day to enjoy everything we love to do!
Working Post-Retirement
Initially, we didn’t plan to work after retiring from busy careers. Five years in, we developed PEPBinder, a tool inspired by my caregiving experiences, allowing us to help others prepare and organize important documents. The flexibility of retirement lets us set our own priorities and passions—even starting a small business.
Our Personal Experience
We both knew we did not want to commit to any type of work after we retired. My husband was self-employed as a general contractor, and I worked in marketing at a large insurance company. Fifty-to-sixty-hour work weeks were not unusual. So we were excited to not have any commitments daily.
Five years after we retired, we decided to manufacture PEPBinder, a comprehensive resource that helps people organize their critical financial and personal information into one source. PEPBinder evolved over a 10 year period because of my role as a caregiver for several family members.
PEPBinder launched in February, 2025. I was heads down marketing until August of 2025, then I put my efforts on hold to help our son completely rehab the home he purchased.
That’s the beauty of retirement; you control your priorities. We are rounding the corner with completion of his home, so I am gearing up my marketing efforts. I am very passionate about making sure people are prepared for life’s unexpected so they can enjoy life now and just have fun!
So never say never! You just don’t know where your passion or interests might take you – including starting a small business!
Travel Exploration
Traveling in our camper has shown us what styles of travel we enjoy. We prefer shorter trips, state parks, and discovering local antique shops, while always appreciating home comforts. Retirement gives us the freedom to explore at our own pace.
Our Personal Experience
We love exploring our beautiful country. We have taken some month-long trips with our camper as well as one-to-two-week trips. We have learned we don’t like being away for long periods of time – we really love being home. We have also learned what our limits are when traveling with the camper. We like to drive about 300 miles per day and look for destinations along the way that we might stay a couple of nights and explore the area.
We prefer state parks where hiking is available; but we also like to explore activities in the area. Finding antique stores is always a must wherever we are!
We have our favorite areas to camp in and usually revisit them every year. One of our favorites is the Smoky mountains. They are so lush and there is so much to do in the area, especially hiking.
We really don’t like traveling where we stay in a hotel. It just doesn’t feel like home. When we take our camper, its like our home away from home!
What type of travel do you like to do? Are you an international traveler? Close to home? Retirement gives you the opportunity to enjoy whatever travel appeals to you. Go forth and explore!
Connecting with Friends and Family
Time with loved ones—lifelong friends, children, and grandchildren—is a cherished part of our schedule. Flexible days allow us to nurture these relationships through regular visits, outings, and memorable retreats.
Our Personal Experience
I love being with family and friends. I have high school girlfriends that I am so close to, and we spend time together monthly – enjoying lunch or a fun activity. We also go on retreat together once a year. It is always memorable.
I have so many friends from my working years that I enjoy reconnecting with them as well. While we may not get together as often, it is so much fun when we do connect and catch up.
We are blessed that our two boys live within 30 to 45 minutes of us. We are also blessed with a beautiful granddaughter with another one on the way! So, grandma play dates are frequent and so much fun! We are really close to Dave’s twin brother and sister-in-law, so we spend time with them very frequently.
It’s so nice to have so much flexibility with your schedules in retirement that you have more time to spend with the people you love.
Exercise
Staying active is a priority, whether hiking, biking, or adapting indoor routines during winter months. We set goals together and adjust as interests change, keeping health central to our lifestyle.
Our Personal Experience
My husband and I are both committed to exercise to keep us flexible and healthy as we age. We both have a stretching routine that is part yoga and part strength training. We also try and incorporate aerobic activity into our daily routine. We take two days off a week to give our bodies time to rest and recover. Each year we set a total mile’s goal – and have achieved it and sometimes exceeded it!
Early on in retirement, we hiked daily. We are fortunate to have a state park very close to our home – so it was pretty easy to get in a 2-mile hike daily. Once the workshop was built and my crafting interests expanded, we started walking in our neighborhood at home so we wouldn’t consume so much of our afternoon hiking.
About four years ago, we purchased electric bikes – which further expanded our form of exercise. We usually take our bikes camping and sometimes the parks are hilly, having a power assist on those big hills makes biking so much easier. At home, we will ride 7 to 10 miles when we get our bikes out. It’s a great form of exercise and is easy on the joints!
Winter can be challenging when it comes to exercise, so we found new ways to make sure we were getting aerobic activity when we couldn’t get outside. We sometimes will do various “walk at home” videos on YouTube. There are so many variations to choose from that you won’t get bored! We also will do stair climbs – just set a timer for 30 minutes and get as many round trips on our two sets of stairs as we can in that 30-minute period. When we really want a challenge, we put on weighted vests to increase the aerobic benefits. We use these vests on our neighborhood walks as well. It’s great conditioning for hiking.
Just like everything else in our retirement, our exercise has evolved!
Go With the Flow
We have learned over our retirement years to be open to change, embrace new opportunities and be willing to let go of some interests to make room for new ones. The most important thing to remember is to just have fun! Here’s hoping your retirement years are as fulfilling as ours have been!