It was a beautiful October afternoon.
I was driving home after an enjoyable mountain bike ride in the Appalachian Mountains, savoring the cool breeze through the open windows in my pickup truck.
The radio was on (yes, I’m an old-timer who still listens to the radio, typically a local Classic Rock station), when Bruce Springsteen started belting out his catchy 1984 song…Glory Days.
Feel free to watch the video of that infamous tune, but here are some key lyrics to spark your memory:
“I had a friend who was a baseball player, back in high school…”
“We went back inside, sat down, had a few drinks, but all he kept talking about was Glory Days…”
“Glory Days, well they’ll pass you by. Glory Days, in the wink of a young girl’s eye.”
“And I hope when I get old, I don’t sit around thinking about it. But I probably will.”
The song got me thinking….
…and that thinking led to today’s post.
Glory Days…they’ll pass you by.
It’s not only applicable to high school memories. It turns out to also be a great reminder for our retirement years.
Bruce Springsteen sang of the Glory Days. His song about high school memories applies equally well to retirement. Share on X
As I listened to Bruce, my thoughts drifted.
Do I want my life to be focused on the “Glory Days” of the past, or would I rather be intentional about enjoying my current life?
I’ll take Door #2 for $100, Alex. Every time.
I don’t want to be one of those “old people” who tell the same old stories from their earlier Glory Days. Better to embrace the current, appreciate the life we’re enjoying today, and reflect on the Glory Days we have left to live.
My thoughts drifted to the contrast between my life now and my life in high school.
I have great memories of high school, but those days don’t even compare to the days I’m living now. Back in high school, I had lots of friends, but also dealt with the awkward peer pressure/acceptance issues that all teenagers face. Scraping together a few bucks to go out on the weekend required a part-time job. In retirement, I’m financially independent, happily married, have as many friends as I did in those old Glory Days, and am making a small impact on the world through my writing and my wife’s charity.
Retirement is like high school with money and no need to attend class, take tests, or do homework.
I would argue that retirement life is better than high school life. Today, I’ll share 5 examples to prove the point that we’re actually living our Glory Days now. As you read through these examples…
Think about your own “Glory Days” list.
What are you doing now that classifies as “Glory Day Living?”
If your list is short, what can you add to add more “Glory Days” to your life?
Never stop experimenting. Your glory days are out there, but they will pass you by.
Make them happen, while you still can.
Letting Toby enjoy a swim after a 6-mile hike.
1. Playing In The Woods (on a weekday)
One of my true joys in retirement is being able to enjoy the woods on weekdays, when all of the tourists are back at work. October is my favorite month to be outside, and I’ve been taking full advantage of it. In each of the past three weeks, I’ve taken Toby for a 6+ mile hike. Like his “Dad,” he is an active soul, and it’s helpful to let him burn some energy off in the gorgeous mountain area we call home. I’ve also gone mountain biking, and enjoyed “Sunday walks” with my wife on a nice 2.5-mile loop by our cabin.
As I look up at the breeze blowing the colored leaves on an Appalachian mountainside, I pause in appreciation and give thanks for being able to live these…
…Glory Days.
Gracie (middle) enjoys her daily walks down our road.
2. Gracie: Our 16-Year-Old Rescue Dog
We adopted Gracie, a “16-year-old” dog, last year (*). Gracie was tied to a chain, and we were building a fence for her through my wife’s charity, Freedom For Fido. She stole our hearts, and we thought we’d give her a better life for the few short months she likely had remaining. Her owner wasn’t responsible, and he was happy to let us adopt her.
We knew we’d be heartbroken when she died, but felt the benefit was worth the cost.
* When we brought Gracie home, she bounded up onto our couch and jumped off the back of the couch onto the floor. “There’s no way she’s 16,” we thought. (Her owner had told us that she was 16). Our vet guessed she was 8 – 10 years old, and we subsequently found a sibling through a DNA match and confirmed her age at 10 years old.
We thought Gracie would be gone by now. Instead, we savor every day we get with her. We consider every one of them to be…
…Glory Days.
Octavia at “Grand Camp” with Grandpa and Grandma.
3. Watching A Grandchild Grow
If you have children, you likely reflect on how quickly the time passed.
Knowing that, we’re focusing on creating as many positive experiences with our 6-year-old granddaughter as possible. We’ve started an annual tradition called “Grand Camp,” where Octavia comes to the mountains for a week every summer to do “fun kid stuff” with Grandma and Grandpa.
It’s our favorite week of the year.
We build a list all year of activities we think she’d enjoy, then flood the week with great experiences. We capture the week in photos and give her a hard-bound book every year at Christmas titled “Grand Camp,” with the year engraved on the cover. Every one of the photos in that book serves as a reminder that we’re living in a time that will pass all too quickly…
…Glory Days.
Our 188th Freedom For Fido fence build.
4. Making A Difference In Our Community
My wife and I never dreamed that we’d be running a charity in retirement. (For my newer readers, we build free fences for low-income families with dogs in need). Working arm-in-arm with my wife on the mission makes it special for both of us, and we savor the work we’re doing.
Freedom For Fido has become the thing we enjoy more than anything else at this stage in our lives. I’ve written the story behind the charity in my article, “Freedom For Fido – A Story Of Finding Purpose in Retirement.”
When my wife started it, we had no idea that we’d still be going strong 6 years later, and rapidly approaching our 200th fence build (Build #190 is happening this week – follow our Facebook page for pics as we approach #200!).
The benefits of this work have exceeded our expectations, including:
Relationships: We call our volunteers “The Fido Family” for a reason.
Physical Activity: I’m in the best shape of my life, in part due to my desire to never stop building fences.
Purpose: Giving back to those in need brings rewards like nothing else.
At every build, my wife does an amazing job of “keeping it fun,” and it’s rewarding to hear the laughter and see the smiles on all of our volunteers’ (and recipients’) faces. As our society has grown increasingly divisive, she established a guideline that “No Politics Allowed – this is all about the dogs.” It’s a true joy to watch individuals from “both sides of the aisle” working side by side, with smiles on their faces (one of the few remaining places in our society where that occurs, I’d imagine?).
Everyone talks about the fantastic atmosphere on our builds, and my wife deserves all the credit for keeping it that way. Every time I head out for a Build Day, I take a moment to appreciate the fact that I’m living in our…
…Glory Days.
My “Treehouse Writing Studio” (taken as I was writing today’s post)
5. The Retirement Manifesto
10 years in, and I still love the feeling of “Flow” I experience when I write these articles. Having a platform to exercise my mind, share my experiences, and provide content that (hopefully) benefits the reader makes my life better. I savor every reader email and comment that reminds me that the work I do in this writing studio is making an impact on people’s lives. How many people get the opportunity to write something that can impact others? I consider it a blessing, and it’s an area of my life that constantly reminds me that I’m living in…
…Glory Days.
It’s appropriate that I’m writing this article in October. Like the leaves falling steadily outside my writing studio windows, I know these Glory Days will pass. In a few short years, I’ll be looking back with fond memories on the life I’m living right now.
I had a stark reminder of that as I read the following in a recent Kiplinger article, “Need A Reason To Retire Early? Consider These Eye-Opening Stats.”
“As of 2021, the U.S. health life expectancy or HALE is 63.9 years, according to the World Health Organization, the average age a person is expected to live in good health without having chronic diseases or significant disabilities.”
Read that again.
How long, realistically, do we have before our health begins to decline?
None of us knows the answer to that question, but just like our days in high school, or our days of raising a young child, we can be assured that these days will, indeed, pass us by.
I urge you to have a sense of urgency as you seek to create as many Glory Days as possible in your life. Don’t spend your life thinking about the past. Focus on the present.
Create and enjoy your Glory Days.
They will, indeed, pass you by.
Savor every minute until they’re gone.
Your Turn: What are you experiencing in your life now that qualifies as “Glory Days?” If your Glory Days are behind you, what regrets do you have, or what changes are you considering to fill your current life with Glory Days? Finally, I’ve got to ask: What’s better – high school or retirement? Let’s chat in the comments…
