New retiree encourages others to find hobbies

DEAR ABBY » I retired a year ago from a stressful job because I couldn’t take what it was doing to my health. Despite a divorce after a 35-year marriage 10 years ago, I had recovered financially. I was lucky to have landed a job in my early 30s that had an employer-sponsored 401(k) plan, and I contributed to it for 34 years, putting in as much as I could. I am able to collect enough Social Security and withdraw a small amount from the 401(k) to live as I did when I worked.

I always had hobbies, interests and things I wanted to do but never had time for. I have been very happy and busy ever since.

I am shocked at all the furloughed people who are having fits and complaining that they are bored out of their minds. This should be a wakeup call that they need to get a life. For these people, retirement is going to be really hard.

I have put old home movies on DVDs, reorganized photo albums, cleared out a lot of stuff to simplify my life, put in a vegetable garden, made a quilt. COVID or not, I am a busy woman. Can you encourage all those bored people to learn a new craft, try a new recipe, make a birdhouse, SOME

THING other than call this busy woman and distract me from my projects?

— Living It Up in New Hampshire

DEAR LIVING » No, but

YOU should certainly consider doing it. You can also make yourself less available to the complainers by putting your phone on mute during the hours you prefer not to be disturbed. This is not to say your suggestions aren’t good ones, just that I have urged readers for years to prepare well in advance for retirement.