I hope the listeners had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. We were able to enjoy a Friendsgiving and you’ll get to hear all about Barbara’s full house. In fact, she’s still finding bits of Thanksgiving activities all over her house!
Barbara also updates us on her latest RV trip and her first-time digging clams. She and her daughter went on a much-needed mother-daughter trip and had their colors done, which has caused each of them to revamp their wardrobes. They had a great experience with Nicole in Baylor, just north of Seattle. Her contact information is nicole.kaczmarek@houseofcolour.com and her Instagram is houseofcolour_ballard.
That trip ended with a pretty shocking phone call from Barbara’s husband, which has added even more excitement to their RV life!
Barbara got introduced to Trusted House Sitters, a great service for anyone who might be leaving their home and any pets for an extended length of time. You can get a discount if you use my link! rockyourretirement.com/THS
Lastly, Barbara checks in with her own aspirations and goals she set in 2021 and leaves us with some parting advice.
We hope you enjoy the latest episode of Rock Your Retirement!
We’re back with another update from Barbara’s RV retirement adventure! And boy, has it proven to be adventurous! Barbara is going to tell us about the ups and downs of their most recent travels. From watching sunsets on the beach to sweating through heavy traffic in their big rig, she and her husband already have quite a bit of experience under their belts.
Barbara teaches us why traveling in and owning an RV is a lot like retirement – until you’re in the thick of it, you don’t really know what it’s going to be like. You may have to make some changes and try some new things, but in the end, it’s bound to work out.
For those of you thinking about trying out the RV life, Barbara has some beginner tips and tricks.
Really understand the differences in RVs and know what you’re paying for in a more or less expensive rig.
Everyone on board should know how to handle the working parts – water and electric hookups included.
On your first few trips, keep a list of things you need (or don’t need) for the next trip.
If you see someone setting up camp for the first time, don’t try to help unless they ask – it’s an unwritten RV rule.
And lastly…
When you’re on the move, make sure everything is bolted down!
Even with all the lessons along the way, Barbara and her husband have already experienced so many memorable moments with their family and friends – moments that without an RV, she would never have had.
In Kathe’s world, things are BUSY! She is right in the middle of the craziest time of year for Medicare – the Annual Election Period. That means that for now, she’s living vicariously through Barbara – as a lot of us probably are!
We hope you enjoy the latest episode of Rock Your Retirement!
This post of Retirement and Retirement Lifestyle first appeared on http://RockYourRetirement.com
In this episode, we’re giving you an update on the exciting things that are happening in Barbara’s life. She has had a busy month and she’s about to embark on a journey that I think many of you will be interested in following – life in an RV!
We’ll dig into the work she and her husband have been doing to prepare for this new adventure and also give you a little insider knowledge about a well-kept secret – the Jeep wave.
During this exciting time of life, Barbara also had some tough things happen. She lost a young family member unexpectedly – a mother whose kids are now left to face life without their mom. In addition to that, her niece, who has been adamantly anti-vax, came down with a terrifying case of COVID pneumonia. She nearly lost her life but is now on the road to recovery. The silver lining is that all of her anti-vax friends witnessed the toll COVID takes on people, and they are now getting vaccinated. It was an unfortunate situation, but we’ve got to keep looking for the silver lining.
Both of these incidents led Barbara and her husband to do some serious thinking about life and how they want to spend the time they’ve got left. After much discussion, they are now the proud owners of a motorhome!
Barbara found out quickly that buying a motorhome wasn’t easy, nor was finding somewhere to park it! With everything so backed up from the pandemic, they had a hard time finding an RV to purchase. After tons of research and some test drives, they finally found the one.
Next, it was time to plan their travels. With winter quickly approaching, there are a lot of people heading south. Barbara found that many of the places they wanted to book were taken, so they won’t be able to head about until December 27th. Still, she’s got lots to do before then. Right now, she’s busy setting up their new “home” with all the furnishings. As it turns out, purchasing the RV is just the beginning of the expenses!
We end our episode with a trip Barbara recently took to Target. She met an employee there who reinforced what Barbara already knows – that she (and I) are both very lucky to be living the life we’re living.
This post of Retirement and Retirement Lifestyle first appeared on http://RockYourRetirement.com
For this episode, I will give you an update on my retirement quest, we have a health segment on Pickleball, and Barbara will give an update on how her actual retirement is going.
Significant Other– Les and I took an impromptu day trip the other day. We're trying to avoid just staying at home and watching TV. Our relationship is strong. But we're both struggling right now with our lack of social activities.
Friendship-Over the last month, I've been making an effort to solidify some of the relationships that I formed over the last few years since I've moved here. In a fifty-five-plus community with a lot of clubs, it's easy to make a lot of acquaintances. But there's a difference between being friendly with someone and actually being friends with someone.
Family– On the family side I've had a disappointment. My estranged brother recently informed us that he won't be attending my father's memorial service that he helped plan last year. I’m really disappointed that my brother's not coming, although honestly, I kind of knew he wouldn't. You know, all of us have family disappointments, and mine is no different.
On a positive note, I'm trying to build my relationships with other family members. I usually don't send my siblings gifts for their birthday. But this year, to help strengthen our relationships, I sent my two sisters a gift for their birthday. I know it's a small thing, but it's what I did to help with those relationships.
Spiritual– My spiritual pillar is also indeed lacking. Part of it is because I'm really not ready to attend church again. We are currently in an uptick of COVID cases where I live. And not only that, but I know at least three people who have died. They were all fully vaccinated, and one was healthy and in her late 40s. So yeah, I'm scared. And yeah, I'm not as social as I once was because of that. But I've been working on this. And I'm trying to give thanks for what I have. I've also been meditating and praying, and I've been reading my former pastor's daily emails.
Health-On the health side, I've been doing very well. If you're a regular listener, then you already know that I lost 20 pounds during COVID. I know, totally opposite of what most people did. It's been a struggle, but worth it. Because I'm lighter now, I can do more. I'm swimming once a week, I'm doing water aerobics five days a week, and synchronized swimming twice a week. I know, you think I'm probably going to turn into a fish, at least Les thinks that. In addition to all the water activities that I'm doing, I watch what I eat. However, I'm disappointed that my cholesterol is still high.
Purpose– I struggle with this and it is one of the reasons I'm still working. If I'm not working, then what is my purpose in life going to be? Is it this show? Is it doing fun things? I mean, doing fun things isn't really a purpose, is it? I don't have grandkids, so they can't be my purpose. So, until I figure it out, I'll still work because I really do enjoy helping people.
So, tell me, help me out. What's your purpose in life? Have you figured that out yet? Send me an email, at Podcast@RockYourRetirement.com and tell me what you're doing? What is your purpose in life?
Health Segment
For this week’s Rock Your Retirement Health Segment, I have Lynn Cherry with me. She is the host of a podcast called Pickleball Fire. As you can imagine, she talks about pickleball. Lynn moved from North Texas to Connecticut and needed to find an indoor activity to do during the winter. She went to her local gym to check out what pickleball was about. She ended up playing that day and immediately loved it!
It's a game very popular with people in their 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, and even 80’s
Lynn enjoyed the sport so much she ended up starting a website to grow and promote the sport. During the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, she actually started her podcast.
Among other things, Lynn talks about what pickleball is, why a lot of older people really love the sport, and how it’s played.
I asked Lynn to tell me if there was one thing that you want our listeners to learn about pickleball what would it be? She said in terms of the game if you need something to do and to get up off the couch to try pickleball. She said that it isn’t like going to the gym. It is fun, easy and she has even interviewed someone on her Podcast who lost 100 pounds by playing pickleball! So, it is definitely great exercise
If you don’t like going to the gym, or don’t have a membership to one, and would like to find a pickleball court near you, Lynn has you covered.
If you go to https://pickleballfire.com/courtsyou can find various places to play. And within that search feature, you can also find instructors. She said it isn’t necessary to get an instructor but if that is something you would be interested in that is another option.
Pickleball is becoming so popular that there are even restaurants that are putting in pickleball courts! You can visit https://chickennpickle.com/ to check it out
What’s is going on in Barbara’s Life?
We talk about Barbara’s recent trip to Mexico with her friend. There was actually a hurricane coming during her trip but thankfully, they did not get a direct hit where they were staying. Then, a few days following that, there was a devastating hurricane in Louisiana.
There was one day during her trip where she was walking by herself and just kind of asking God what's going to happen now with fall approaching. With everything shutting down, she was coming to the conclusion that she needed to cancel all of her trips and just stop planning because it's just so unpredictable.
Not having plans is difficult for Barbara. Learning to live through a pandemic is not easy and like all of us, Barbara is trying to figure out how to navigate her “new normal”
We talked about Barbara trying to find her purpose. She decided she needs to just accept and lean into this fall, that it's not going to be what she planned. But she needs to be okay with it.
Final thoughts from Barbara on Finding Purpose
It's realizing that having a plan is one thing but being able to adapt that plan to the conditions that there are at the time, not getting too attached to one specific vision. Because then you can miss the butterflies. You can miss out on what's right in front of you. Something as simple as taking a dog for a walk or taking a child for a walk. There are so many things that we tie up with entertainment. Going to a place like Disneyland or going on a cruise or going to Mexico, when really right around us there is life being lived.
There are wonderful people and there are stories to be heard. And in our zeal to program our lives to book a trip, how many times are we missing out on things that are right around us? Because we're just not looking for it? Because we're so focused on this future thing. So for me, I have no regrets about retiring. I have felt so enriched this summer, I'm so grateful. It’s kind of like get over yourself. So what if you don't get all your plan. Find something else to pivot on. Take a class, learn to paint, call a friend. It's just kind of like, say yes to life, and quit worrying about the things you don't have is the lesson I've been learning this summer.
You're now listening at another pivotal time, where we're slightly changing the format. From March 2016 to August 2020. This was an interview-style show where I interviewed people who could help you rock your retirement. But not financially. Those were what I call the encyclopedia years of the show. If you were interested in a particular topic, such as finding Mom a retirement home, dealing with grief, or even how sex changes after retirement, you can probably find your topic in our back catalog.
Then, in August of 2020, we started following the life of a pre-retiree, Barbara Mock. She is retired now, and we are planning on giving you updates on her life and what’s she’s going through as long as she’ll let us.
Sor for now, we are giving you updates on my life and how I’m dealing with continuing to work and getting ready for retirement.
We will do this until I find another pre-retiree who’s willing to make that 1-year commitment to let us live vicariously through their eyes. I’m looking for someone who’s different from Barbara. Perhaps an unmarried person? Or maybe someone who is going to retire but maybe isn’t quite so financially prepared. Maybe someone without a pension. So, if you know someone who is getting ready to retire, within the next 6 months or so, please send that person my way. They can email us at Podcast@RockYourRetirement.com
Update on Kathe’s Life
You may or may not know that I started the show because I have been struggling with my own thoughts about retirement. Les and I are financially independent. So I don't actually have to work. But I continue to work. I'm sure that this is true for a lot of my listeners.
Below are some updates on my life that I discuss in the show
Our move to the 55 plus community
You might know that Les and I purchased a home in a55 and older community in October of 2018, and moved there shortly after. Prior to moving, we did a huge search of communities. We even created a spreadsheet with a little bit of help from a friend to help us with the search. Here is a copy if you'd like to see what factors we considered.https://www.rockyourretirement.com/55Plus And I'd love it if you'd help me update the spreadsheet for others. So if you have other items that should be included, please let me know. I also talk about the adjustment to the new culture, food, and even changes to my Medicare Business due to the move.
My weight loss and health
In January of 2019, I decided it was time for me to lose the 20 pounds I gained over the years. I talk about how I lost the weight, and what I do to keep it off and stay active in my life now.
Traveling
We have had to cancel a lot of travel plans lately due to COVID and health issues Les has had. I did still take a two-week “staycation” and decided to spend some time making new friends and fostering current friendships.
Making time for what is most important
Even though I am still working, I am making time for things in my life that are important. My health, my relationship, friendships, and activities.
What is Barbara up to?
She spent the first week of July getting ready to help with Vacation Bible School which was very rewarding. There were 438 kids in all.
There were about 120 volunteers, and about 90 of them were high school and junior high students.
Barbara got in a tug of war and was in some of the games. Needless to say, it was very exhausting for her!
There were about 120 volunteers, and about 90 of them were high school and junior high students.
Barbara got in a tug of war and was in some of the games. Needless to say, it was very exhausting for her!
“The little kids just give you hope for the future. They were just amazing.”
She also just finished up Nana Camp with her 3 grandchildren and it was everything Barbara had hoped for. The precious time with her grandkids was amazing. They just left a few days ago and she is still recovering with the laundry, the house, and just her energy levels, but super rewarding.
No Schedule and Uncomfortable
So now Barbara is in a new month, and everything is blank. There is nothing on her calendar. She literally went from going 100 miles an hour to just stopping. Life is just unstructured with no schedule, and that's an uncomfortable place for Barbara to be.
Barbara is a planner and with nothing in her schedule right now I asked her how she is managing.
“I’m driving my husband crazy. I keep putting out possibilities for things they can do. And while they're not big decisions, as a retiree, you want to make good decisions, you want to use your time wisely. You want to use your money wisely. you today to look ahead, figure out what you want to do, where you want to go, and how you're going to get there and how you're going to pay for it.”
Focusing and Meditation
I asked Barbara if she has ever thought about mediation. And like many of us, she struggles to just sit quietly with ourselves and not have our minds wander. I use an app called brain.fm to help me meditate. I feel like giving your brain a rest, even for a few minutes a day is good for your brain and it is a good way to help prevent getting dementia
Club Med
I talked about a recent vacation Les and I took to ClubMed in Florida. This is an all-inclusive resort so the food, drinks and many activities are included. The food is absolutely amazing, some of the best I've ever had. There were some pros and cons to our trip and we did end up leaving two days early, but overall we had a really nice time.
What's Next?
Barbara enjoys connecting with people, so she plans on cultivating some new friendships and gathering with current friends.
There is also a bit of uneasiness for Barbara on what's next for the fall and winter. Predictions show a very wet fall and winter where Barbara lives and she doesn't want to be there the whole time. So she is feeling a bit anxious that she hasn't filled that space with anything yet. We talked about the idea of putting ideas of places to go during the winter months as sort of a retirement idea jar
She is planning on slowing down just a bit since things have been so busy for her. So, her focus right now will be relaxing, reading, walking/hiking, getting exercise, and of course her ladies golf two days a week.
Barbara is hoping that she can keep a good balance. She feels like she needs things to stimulate her intellectually and emotionally.
“I think our brains are better when we're interacting with other people or other cultures or going to different places. I think for seniors anyway, it's good to not just sit at home and watch TV, it's good to get out. And even if it's in your neighborhood, experience other places, and other things so that you can actually have a memory triggered, so that you can use your brain that way.”
Health Segment
For our health segment, we have Jon Pearlman, co-founder of Mission Lean the leading fitness app for anti-aging. Today John and I talked about stretching.
It is important, for older adults, especially sticking to a consistent flexibility routine is a must. A lot of injuries that an older person might suffer from having to do with a lack of flexibility and a lack of range of motion. This can be avoided if somebody just commits to a consistent routine of flexibility and stretches.
John recommends 3-5 times a week of 10 minutes a day stretching
Also, your stretching routine should be done after your workout when your body is warm, and all the muscles are warm.
Can you stretch when your muscles are cold?
According to John, the answer is yes. It's not ideal because when you're warmed up, not only are your muscles activated and warm and ready to absorb those stretches to the fullest.
Don’t forget to download the mission lean app to get more fitness routines and tips. To learn more, download the Mission Lean app on your cell phone or you can visit https://missionlean.com
Do you have any questions? You can email your questions to Podcast@RockYourRetirement.com and we will try to answer them on the show.
As you may know, if you have listened to our previous episodes, Barbara has spent the first part of her retirement doing a lot of traveling. She and her husband went on a golf trip and another trip to Utah with many stops along the way.
There have, however, been some sad things happening and it’s related to Barbara's friends and family and their health.
Her brother-in-law was just diagnosed with cancer. So they are all rallying around him. She has a very close family, and everyone lives on the same street. He is only 57 years old and the diagnosis is making him sort of rethinking his life and what he is doing. He is actually going to retire.
Barbara also has a very close long-time friend how has just found out has some heart issues. He too is planning on retiring.
Another friend had a quadruple bypass and another fiend is losing his eyesight. She has also had some friends and people close to her with health issues and pass away.
So on one hand Barbara has had some great things going on in her life and then also some very sad things.
I asked Barbara how she is feeling about the people in her life with health issues. She said she has been praying a lot but she is also just sad. She feels like you need to utilize the time you have and now and not just live for someday.
I think when there is grief and loss it can cause you to focus on the right things. Family, friendships, quality time with people
Renting E-bikes
On Barbara’s last trip to a wedding, they had decided they didn’t want to rent a car. She found this amazing concierge service that delivers bikes. She rented them for 3 days and they rode around Dana Point. They decided to rent e-bikes because the area was so full of hills. Best decision ever! She said with an e-bike you are still peddling but the bike just gives you a little bit of an assist. There are pros and cons, of course, but for people that are of a certain age, or if your knees don't work as well or if your hips don't work, e-bikes are a game-changer. You're outside, you're able to go a much further distance. And as a result, you stay on them longer. Barbara was riding four to five hours a day, without any problem.
Les and I just started doing water aerobics. I've noticed since I've lost the 20 pounds that I lost over the last year and a half. I'm sleeping better my brain is less foggy. There is a brain-heart connection. And so for the listener, if you're not exercising, try to find something that works for you. Whether it's walking or a combination of things. Studies have shown that getting your heart rate up can help with your brain health.
Focusing on Health in Retirement
What’s next for Barbara?
For her birthday, her daughter bought her something called story worth. It's an application and her daughter was able to go through and choose about 50 questions. The program sends Barbara an email once a week with a question that her daughter picked out and she emails back the answer. After a year, once all the questions have been answered it publishes a book. I think the idea of you writing your memoir over the course of a year just by answering some questions, is fantastic!
Barbara's church had a plea for help at the Vacation Bible School. So she will be teaching a group of 4th graders.
We also talked about “Nana Camp” She will have all 4 of her grandkids for a week. She and her husband decided they would do a play on The Amazing Race. So she is deep into planning for this major and exciting event coming up! .
Health Break Segment
For our health segment, we have Jon Pearlman, co-founder of Mission Lean the leading fitness app for anti-aging. John and I talked about the importance of warming up before your workout and why sticking to a great warm-up routine is going to enhance not only your workout but your longevity and fitness for years to come.
Countless, scientific and sports studies out there have shown that people who warm up diligently before sports have improved performance, both across aerobic and anaerobic sports, such as cycling, running, and swimming. Even when John was training and competing as an athlete, warming up is was such an instrumental part of his routine. The Mission Lean app has anti-aging programs that include warm-ups. Depending on which workout you choose, there are at least two or three dynamic mobility, mobility, and flexibility, routines.
Don’t forget to download the mission lean app to get more fitness routines and tips. To learn more, download the Mission Lean app on your cell phone or you can visit https://missionlean.com
Do you have any questions? You can email your questions to Podcast@RockYourRetirement.com and we will try to answer them on the show.
Angie Strehlow who helps us get great guests that help us with our retirement lifestyle while keeping everything on track…and helps with these show notes!
Les Briney, my husband, who edits the show and makes my guests and me sound terrific.
Sharon Drury, who volunteers her time to work on transcription for us.
YOU for telling your friends about the show, leaving comments below, and sharing episodes you really like on Facebook, and reviewing the show on iTunes
Finding our Purpose in Life
We talk about Barbara’s recent trip to Mexico with her friend. There was actually a hurricane coming during her trip but thankfully, they did not get a direct hit where they were staying. Then, a few days following that, there was a devastating hurricane in Louisiana.
As you may know, if you have listened to our previous episodes, Barbara has spent the first part of her retirement doing a lot of traveling. She and her husband went on a 