Now that I’m retired, what do I do?

There are those that can retire and find a multitude of things to do. They play golf, enjoy cards, sign up for courses, or simply read or garden. But what about those of us who don’t do that or want to do that?

When I retired in 2005, after teaching in the Hewlett-Woodmere School District for 37 years, I became president of Temple Hillel. This fully occupied my time with meetings and planning for two years. During this time, in addition, I read books, planted my garden, sorted through papers and cleaned out my computer files. I had the opportunity to leisurely read the newspaper during breakfast and enjoyed the time to decide when I wanted to do what. In short, to do what retired people are expected to do.

When I left the position at the Temple, I wondered what I would do next. It was not in my nature to sit around and I started to look around for something else to occupy my time. My wife Roberta, having also taught for 30 years, had adjusted to retirement well by doing Israeli dancing twice a week, and teaching it one evening a week. She thrived on reading books, while having more time to care for the family, cook, bake, and learn to play Mahjong.

I was offered a part time job teaching at North Shore Hebrew Academy in 2007. I accepted it and loved the experience of being back in the classroom part time. It was a nice blend of working and having free time. This lasted for three years and in June of 2010, I was once again retired completely.

I entered the fall, still wondering what would be my next adventure. You see if you look at life the right way, each new day is like an adventure. That is what I loved about teaching. Each new day was a new challenge, not knowing for sure what would happen next.

I decided I would volunteer in schools, but wanted the right experience. I went to see Kathy Anderson, assistant superintendent for Human Resources and Pupil Personnel in the Hewlett-Woodmere School District. We talked about several possibilities. One included the desire to create a closer relationship between district students and the Five Town Senior Center. The Five Towns Center recently moved into the old Carriage House and Recreation Center on the Hewlett High School campus. She asked if I would like to help coordinate the effort to bring this about. After taking a weekend, I decided to try it.

Needless to say, I found the right challenge for my skill set. I knew how the schools operate and as a senior, I understood what needed to be done. The Senior Center, under the leadership of Georgiana Wolfson has been flourishing. They offer programs in Flexercize, Beginners Spanish and Hebrew, yoga, Canasta, Mahjong, and much more. I love to go there and see the art classes, writing classes and singing group. It is truly a place where new retires and old can find their niche.

They offer special programs every week, such as Milestones in Music, Masterworks of Literature, and Musicals as History: fact or fiction, Art and Artists, The Italian Americans and much more.

I enjoy working with Olga Gueda, a retired secretary, who does most of their computer work. With the help of Hewlett High School students, we are revising the database, and transcribing attendance figures to identify which programs are working best and what else can or should be offered. The Senior Center has recently offered community service to high school students, where the students have begun to teach new courses for Seniors on internet usage and cell phone usage. The Center also received six of the older computers from the Hewlett District due to be discarded. So the opportunities to teach computer work to seniors have increased greatly.

Where do we go from here? After meeting with a committee of staff from the middle school, we at the Senior Center are looking for retired individuals from all walks of life that would be willing to share their experiences with groups of students in the schools. This could be either at the high school, middle school or elementary school level. Have you been looking for something to do? Do you have life experiences to share? Are you willing to help students with their reading or math skills? We need your help.

As a generation, we have much to share with the younger generations. This is your opportunity to try something new. If interested contact me at agreene@hewlett-woodmere.net .

If you don’t know how to do it using the Internet, join the Center and learn. You may have other ideas on how to bring the generations closer together. Perhaps a community talent show, involving the young and the old, might be the next task. If you have ideas contact Georgiana at (516) 374-4747. You are never too old to learn something new. Take the initiative and make every day a new challenge. I have and look forward to many days ahead. 

Allan Greene is a retired teacher.