When I was growing up and thinking about a career, I had no shortage of examples of what it meant to work full time. My parents were both engaged in running a family business and raising a large family. My father purchased a second business when I was six years old and ran both of those businesses simultaneously until I left for college. He would rise at 4:30 am and go to work at the airport four three or four hours before heading to town to run his farm machinery business. Noon hour was reserved for family. If he had a customer or business associate with whom he was working when noon arrived, he often brought that person home for dinner with him. Then it was back to work until 6 pm. And if a customer needed parts after supper, he was known to go back and open the shop to serve the customer. Seven hours before lunch and five hours after. 12-hour days six days a week. Our mother rose before us and worked the company books before making us breakfast. She managed the checkbooks for two businesses, including deposits and receipts, paying bills and payroll. And she was generally working when we went to bed, baking bread or making a cake for a school or church event.

Our parents’ friends were also people who worked hard. They tended to be professionals or business people who worked long hours.

Looking back, I know that part of my work life was shaped by the mentors and models I had growing up. While I had plenty of examples of what it means to work, I now realize that I had far fewer models of what it means to retire. My father was financially successful and sold his businesses when he was relatively young. It took several years for him to divest himself of his businesses, but as he cut back he increased his volunteer work, starting a new roofing company that never attempted to make a profit, but rather replaced roofs at the church camp and at a college of which he was a trustee. He did a building demolition for the college as a volunteer. He didn’t really cut back on his hours of working, he shifted his focus from earning money to pursuing favorite projects. He became sick and died before he reached the age of 60.

I knew pastors who retired and lived relatively short amounts of time after their retirement. I had a teacher who simply didn’t retire until a stroke caused a disability when he was in his 80’s.

My one good example of retirement was my father-in-law who continued to teach a few classes after he retired, but mostly shifted his work time to volunteer activities. He had what I have seen as a very successful retirement, funded in part by a good retirement package from years as a union worker and in part by wise savings and investment strategies.

I have also had friends who are good at retirement. I have watched as they remain very active in church and community, serving others and always having plenty of projects.

So I thought that the transition from work to retirement would be a bit simpler than it has turned out to be. Learning how to be retired has been, for me, as big of a challenge as learning how to make the transition from full-time student to full-time worker was. Like that transition, where I experimented with a lot of different part-time jobs as a student, I am finding that a bit of experimentation is in order.

Going back to work half time was definitely a good move for me. I would not have lacked for volunteer opportunities. I could volunteer in our grandchildren’s schools. I could volunteer in our church. There are several community service organizations such as Habitat for Humanity where I would be welcome to volunteer. But there is something about the level of accountability and responsibility that go with having a position that others see as a job that fits my personality.

I know I’m putting in a few too many hours for a half-time job. I think I probably did the same when I was working full-time. I’ve never had to track hours and I’m not going to start now. I am at the office three days each week, plus a few extra trips as needed. I have the other four days for family and home projects, of which I have a long list. I have the luxury of living just down the road from our son’s small farm. There are always more jobs than time on a farm. I can go there and have things to do anytime I have run out of projects at home. We share a workshop at the farm, where I can make repairs and build boats.

I don’t know what I expected retirement to be like, but I have never learned to play golf and I’m not one who is entertained by sitting back and watching others work. It turns out that for this stage of my life semi-retirement is working pretty good.

Our position at the church is an Interim position. We probably will have this job for another year, but not much beyond that. The church will discern the new leadership patters that are right for its future and we will step aside to make way for those new leaders. It is possible that there will be other interim positions at other churches, but we don’t have anything firm and it is most likely that we won’t even begin looking until after our service in this position is completed, so there will be a period of unemployment between jobs. We’re comfortable with that.

It turns out that I’m not the only one making it up as I go along. The pandemic resulted in more than 3 million Americans retiring early. Now, as inflation spikes, people are coming out of retirement. “Unretirement” levels are much higher than the pre-pandemic years. One survey found that two-thirds of people who retired during the pandemic are returning to work in some form. Some are returning to work because they need the money. Others because there is a labor shortage and companies need skills and knowledge from experienced workers. Most because of a combination of factors.

Researcher Michelle Silver wrote, “It’s really important to recognize that retirement is just a phase that was invented, it’s not a natural progression or an essential stage of life.” I think i recognize that. In fact, I think I’ll make it my motto.