Pickleball is one of the fastest growing sports in the world. Regina has its very own Queen City Pickleball Hub you can join. But it doesn’t have to be pickleball. It could be golfing, tennis, running, walking, cycling, curling, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, sledding. The possibilities are endless.

​The more you can keep active, the better you’ll be in retirement.

Staying on the keeping active theme. You can stay active and meet people by joining fitness classes. Whether it’s in the pool, at the YMCA, your local gym or a naked yoga studio. It takes almost no thinking power to join a class. Just show up with a good mindset and the right gear (or no gear at all)!

Not sure what your hobby should be? Workshops are great ways to figure out what you’re interested in, new date ideas, or mastery in something you’re interested in. You can take cooking classes, art classes, singing, dancing, woodworking classes, pottery, automotive, or bird watching at Wascana lake.

If you have an interest, I’m sure there’s a workshop for it.

Of course travel has to be on the list. But rather than just flying south for warmer weather. Why not challenge yourself to explore other cultures, learn history, eat new foods, and meet new people. You might surprise yourself with a lifetime memory.

Speaking of Travel. Why not check out the historic corners of Saskatchewan. There are lots of destinations within driving distance that you can do on a weekend or a weekday because why not! You’re retired after all.

Check out https://www.tourismsaskatchewan.com/about-saskatchewan/travel-guides-and-maps

I have three children now and my parents stopped inviting us over for dinner. Rather they only ask if they can take our children for sleepovers. Leaving us adults in the dust.

Christmas, birthdays, and vacations are all about spoiling the grandchildren. Make those memories while you can. You can take them mini golfing, to indoor playgrounds, trampoline parks, to the IMAX, for a bike ride around Wascana, or to a child friendly workshop.

There’s nothing more fresh on your plate than food from your own garden. You may not be a green thumb yet but you can certainly start with very little supplies. You can start with one pot of tomatoes and work your way up to an entire community garden plot. Or, if you have no space, you can invest in a self watering garden tower.

If there’s one thing I know about gardeners, is that they can get lost in conversation for hours about the status of their garden, tips and tricks they’ve tried, and the best deals in the city for supplies.

A friend of mine in Rotary retired and became a professor at the University of Regina teaching history. How cool is that?

You don’t have to become a professor but you can certainly take a class or two in a subject you’ve always been interested in.

My great grandma played scrabble and cards until the day she passed. She lived into her 90s. I can still remember my grandma doing the daily sudoku and word scramble in the newspaper. My grandpa still reads books daily and he just turned 87.

There’s something to keeping your cognitive brain exercised versus turning it into chicken noodle soup in front of the TV.

Wouldn’t it be nice to learn French or Spanish before you take your next trip to Europe? You can learn a new language for free on phone apps like DuoLingo or Youtube.

Learning a language is daunting and embarrassing at times. I’m trying to learn my wife’s language and at times I sound like a complete fool to myself. But in order to communicate better with my in-laws my foolish feeling must continue.

Language, like music, has the added benefit of maintaining and improving cognitive health.

Volunteering is rewarding for yourself and the community. There is always a need for people to do simple tasks like bagging meals, cooking, or transportation. Really, volunteering is just one phone call away from acquiring a shift.

Why not drag your older grandchildren along to teach those young Tik Tok’ers a life lesson!

This idea was a pleasant surprise when I stumbled upon it. But why not adopt a pet? You give a pet a home for a week or two until someone decides to adopt it full-time?

You get some joy in a dog or cat without the permanent commitment.

Last but not least, take on some contract work. Hey, you worked for 30 years and I promise you have some knowledge that is still valuable in the workforce. Call up an old colleague who’s still a slave to the 9-5 and see if they need any part-time contract work done to relieve some of the workload on the team.

This way you stay busy and collect a paycheck for doing so.