Relationships are vital at any age. When it comes down to it the relationships that you have with others are the most valuable thing that you can have. When your relationships are strained it affects everything, including your work, focus, health and the way you feel in general. That is why when you are reaching your senior years it’s so important to strengthen and look after your relationships. Always remember that when a problem arises you need to deal with it as soon as possible.
Relationships change as you age, the relationship you have with your spouse can become more companionable as you get older. If you had a family together as you reach retirement age you find yourself a couple again. Now that the children are grown and making their own life there are adjustments to make. Sometimes it can be a real challenge to get to a place of comfort and companionship with each other, and to enjoy each other’s company, especially when you first retire. Retirement can bring a lot of tense and problematic times for couples early in the retirement; especially if both have been out working and used to spending not more than a couple of hours together in a day. To suddenly find yourselves together 24-7 can be overwhelming to the point that you can drive each other crazy.
Retirement and your relationship can go either way. Statistics show that couples age 50 and over have the highest rate of divorce. There are a number of reasons for this. If over the years a relationship has had problems that have not been resolved there’s likely to be little motivation to change things once you get to the stage where you finally have the freedom to make other choices. Parents are often so busy keeping everything together in the household and work place that they neglect the relationship with their spouse. In the majority of cases the kids have left home by the time retirement comes around. The couples that stay together for the sake of the kids will often decide it’s now the time to go their own way. They have waited until the kids have grown or left home before finally calling it quits. Others couples by not having any common interests have just grow so far apart and not made an effort to make time for each other, they have lead separate lives with separate friends so when retirement comes along they don’t even know each other anymore and don’t want to spend time together.
Your senior years are a great time to reconnect with your spouse. It’s a time for you and your spouse to be doing things that you want to do. You may have spent years doing everything for your family and putting yourself, your spouse and any interests that you may have on the back burner. Now it’s time to change all that and have some good times together. You started off as a couple that had at least some common interests and now you have the chance to enjoy each other again. Finding activities that you can do together whether it’s playing bridge, learning how to paint, fishing, camping, taking a cooking class or learning a new language it’s important to find things that you can both enjoy. You still need to maintain other friends and don’t need to do everything together but having some interests you can share is a huge step to bringing you closer together and strengthening your relationship.
Start by coming up with ideas of some activities that you could both enjoy and benefit from. Maybe one of you is already participating in an activity and can help the other learn it too. Consider taking up a physical activity like tennis or golf it will help to keep you fit and active at the same time you are spending quality time together. Ladies, if your hubby likes golf and you haven’t tried it yet maybe it’s time to get out on the golf course, or at least the driving range. If you’re are a beginner at golf you should consider borrowing some clubs from a friend at first but if you decide you like golf then get yourself, or better yet get your spouse to buy you a set of ladies golf clubs. Be sure to get clubs that are a good fit for you. If you are 5’4” or less you will be best with petite golf girl clubs.
Having the right equipment for any sport will make a big difference to your enjoyment and performance.
Share your interests with your loved ones. If you are interested in writing and have written poems or stories share them. If you desire to
learn and master guitar at home or have already learned to play the guitar share your success with your spouse; be supportive and encouraging of each other. Your relationship will strengthen considerably when you are open to sharing your life and interests with each other.
Author Bio: Shirley Price writes articles on retirement, hobbies, relationships and other life over 50 topics. Shirley has developed and presented workshops on life in Retirement. She is a mother and grandmother living in Vancouver BC. Shirley welcomes you to visit her website at http://www.lifebydesignover50.com
