Karen Nazor-HillIf you ask me what retirement is like, I’ll tell you that I’m more exhausted now than I ever was working a full-time job.
The reason? Children. They are wearing me out.
A big part of my decision to take early retirement last April as a reporter at the Times Free Press was to help out with my three grandchildren: Tilleigh, 9, Evie, 6, and William, 3. It cost a small fortune to send the kids to summer camps last year, so I knew that retiring would free me up to babysit while their mommy, my daughter, Kacee, was at work.
Good heavens, Lord, I had forgotten what it’s like to take care of three kids day after day. Having raised four children, I thought it would be a breeze. Wrong.
Every day by 3 p.m., I double as a zombie. My hair sticks out everywhere; I’m bug-eyed; I walk around in a daze. Well, maybe I’m exaggerating somewhat, but it’s definitely how I feel. I blame it on being 63 years old, which I think is a legitimate claim.