Gift Ideas for Retirement

Is it a gold watch, I suppose to symbolize the time you have given to the company, the discipline and focus you have demonstrated?

I have a friend who is soon to retire from the Winnebago County Adult Probation department, and he has the days counted.

Those of us who work with Ted have told him that we are filing a petition to revoke his retirement, but on June 1 of 2007, he will have finished his years, and he has reported that he has plans made.

As he says those words, ("I have plans made"), he looks relaxed and soft, and relieved, and just a bit sad, as if to intimate that he will miss his work, which has touched the lives of many in our county.

Or course Ted is a Corvette aficionado, so his retirement might just involve automotive pursuits, fast driving somewhere.

While the Winnebago County administration may award Ted a gold watch, those of us left behind will search for some other gifts to convey our appreciation for his hard, disciplined, and fair work.

Maybe we will get him a pillow for his callused behind, which has sat in on innumerable committee meetings rehashing old problems in the criminal justice system which have limited solutions because of legal and financial constraints.

Or maybe we will hire a computer consultant to help him with his e-mail and computer system.

Otherwise how will he know when we e-mail him?

Or perhaps we will look for something to represent this transition in his life, in which Ted has time for the pursuit of personal satisfactions.

As I contemplate Ted's retirement, I experience some wistfulness, I think because his trasition is another reminder of my own age.

And my own mortality. I have outlived both my parents. I have small children, and I want to be a vital and active part of their lives.

I am coming up against my family of origin rules about aging. And I need to continue doing what I am doing to live vitally today, which includes good nutrition, good thinking, starting exciting new projects like websites, exercising, Chi Gong, living my mission statement, and tickling my (ahem) wife and kids.

So in keeping with that formula for excitement and the theme of this website, online businesses for retirees, let me introduce you to some affiliate programs which include retirement gifts for your associates who are getting ready for a transition like Ted's transition.

And here is another idea for retirement. Take a look at Claude's video.

Gift Ideas for Retirement from Overstock.com