Our life as young and then mature adults is tightly connected with our work and our family. The things we do and the people we care for provide us with purpose and meaning. Plus, you get a feeling of being useful and wanted; you have a place in society. 

However, once the kids move out and become self-sufficient, you start to feel less needed. Also, as you move forward in age, and retire, you get a second blow from society.

Now you’re no longer a manager or an advisor - you’re just a retired old person with a whole bunch of time on your hands and a lot of aching body parts. 

As a result, more people fall into depression after retirement. The sudden change in their life dynamics leaves them feeling empty and shunned by society. Still, there is hope for a good and fun life after retirement - you just have to prepare for it.

You can do so by strengthening family ties (taking care of grandchildren from time to time), making new friends (other retired people with a lot of free time), and finding fun and interesting activities to do. 

For instance, if you like flowers, there are a ton of interesting activities you can do on your own or with friends. Here are a few ideas:

Maybe you’ve always wanted a beautiful garden filled with gorgeous flowers from all over the world but there was no time for such a hobby. Well, now that you are retired and the kids are all grown up, you have all the time in the world!

Sure, your joints are not what they used to be, but you can hire someone to do the digging and the planning in the spring. Plus, there are a lot of tools you can use to make your job easier. 

Gardening is a great activity for the body and the soul as it helps you stay active while doing something you love!

If you just like playing with flowers and colors, you can dig into flower arrangements. After all, it takes skill and attention to detail to put together a beautiful yellow flower bouquet! 

For this, you can purchase the flowers fresh from the market or you can collaborate with local gardeners. Who knows, maybe you can make some new friends who share the same love for flowers!

Arrangements help you exercise your dexterity and stimulate the brain by engaging several sensory systems. Plus, they’re nice to look at and brighten any place!

​While they don’t have a very long life when fresh, pressed flowers will stay with you for as long as you want. Plus, you can display them in various crafts or you can offer them to loved ones as gifts or as cards on special occasions. 

It takes a bit to learn the flower pressing technique, but it is an extremely fun and interesting skill to add to the toolkit. Plus, it helps you keep the brain young (learning a new skill) and helps you discover new hobbies and passionate people.

​Overall, whether it’s flowers or anything else, it’s important to find ways to entertain yourself during retirement. This way, your brain will stay active and you will continue to have a fun and full life.