There Is More Than
One Side Of The
Retirement Picture
by John Bergman
You think men have a tough
time adapting to retirement,
how about their working wives?
Especially if (1) the wives had
spent a lot of years clawing
their way up someone's organi
zation ladder, and (2) if their
husbands had settled into a cozy
retirement before they did.
These working women not
only have to cope with a hus
band who is already comfort
ably settled into retirement life,
but also to giving up their
careers and staying home all
day.
Now, you ladies out there, I
would appreciate your not
questioning my judgment in
saying that there is a difference
between a situation in which a
man retires to his stay-at-home
wife and a woman who does the
same thing to her stay-at-home
husband.
Anyway, I know a couple of
cases in which the man took
over most of the household
chores and settled back to wait
for his wife to retire. Now that
they have both retired, they
seem to be getting along alright,
but who knows what goes on
behind closed doors? I see the
scenario something like this.
It is the first day of HER
retirement, the morning after an
evening of substantial revelry at
her Company Retirement Din
ner.
The menu was heavy beef,
because that's what big execu
tives eat. One after another, Ms.
Big Shot's colleagues
approached the rostrum, paying
effusive tribute to her substan
tial contributions to the progress
of the Company.
Toasts were drunk to her
wonderfulness. She received an
expensive gift, emblazoned
with a discreet plaque to remind
her that it was from the Com
pany. She had never felt so
important. Her husband was
there, of course. He smiled a lot
and sat quietly in his corner.
But now it is the first day of
her new life and, as is her cus
tom, she is up before first light,
ready to accomplish. Husband
is not ready for his day to begin.
"For goodness sakes, woman,
he says, "the morning shows
don't even come on for another
hour."
"Never mind, funny face," she
coos at him, "Up and at 'em,
now that I have joined you in
retirement, I want to become
part of your life, to do what you
do." He groans.
"Tell me," she asks him, as
any good executive would,
"what will your biggest decision
be today?"
Whether to keep using my
present dishwasher detergent or
switch to Brand X."
Better try again, she thinks.
She continues, "I want to be all
the help I can to you in our new
life. I want to change your life
for the better."
"Whatever you say," he
agrees.
"Surely, there is more to your
retirement than shopping,
cooking and cleaning. You can
always hire someone to take
care of those petty little house
hold duties."
He sees his cozy retirement
going down the tubes.
"Beginning right this morn
ing, I will reorganize your life
into meaningful segments,
melding your household
responsibilities and your leisure
activities into a more workable
pattern."
He left home.
She was astonished. What
went wrong, she wondered.
Surely it could not have been
my reorganization plan, which
was based on sound manage
ment logic.
No, there was nothing wrong
with her reorganization plan.
But I can tell her the difference
between men and women in this
kind of situation. You would
never find a man trying to
impose any of his ideas on the
retirement schedule of his wife.
Tryon Daily Bulletin, Thurs., Apr. 2,1992
Carruth Furniture Co.
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