Health Aging Retirement and Other Random Observations

A study connecting drinking coffee with longevity was released last week. I read about that as I sat down to drink my morning coffee. Odd personal fact: the last time I missed my morning coffee was in June of 1991. Really. I had switched to decaf for a few months after a hospital stay that year. The office ran out of decaf one day and I thought one cup of regular would be ok. My caffeine addiction returned immediately and I haven’t missed a day since.

As I began to write this while sipping coffee at my neighborhood Panera, a 65-year-old friend walked by. He retired two weeks ago and Panera and Starbucks are among his new daily rituals, replacing the stressful traffic-filled commute on the Capitol Beltway from his home in Maryland to his job in Virginia. He is a young, healthy 65. He liked parts of his job but doesn’t really miss the rest or the commute.

I saw this same friend last night at a neighborhood wine bar. There are many studies touting the health benefits of wine. I have a feeling he and I have many healthy years ahead of us.

Aging and retirement are on my mind this morning, partly because nearly every customer here at Panera appears to be retired. I wonder how many of them live in the Senior apartments across the street.

I am tempted to ask some of these folks about their daily rituals. Is sitting around at a coffee shop discussing health and baseball all they do all day? For the past half hour, the couple at the next table have been talking about the Washington Nationals and every other team in the league. NBC Sports Net could use them. Now the couple is talking about health.

Another apparent retiree is sitting alone, reading a newspaper. Two gray haired women at another table are having a spirited conversation, but I can’t hear what they’re talking about.

I took a few vacation days this week, arguably for well-earned relaxation. But in some ways, this time off is retirement practice. I ran errands the other day, did stuff around the house on another day. I wrote a few blog posts, took a few naps and read part of a book. One night I made it to my wine bar hangout while happy hour prices were still in effect. I never get there that early on a work day.

These aspects of retirement are appealing on some level, but I am sure I’d be bored after a week. I love to work and I love my job. I just want to cut back. All this sitting around would not be good for my health.