Happy moments of a pensioner are not what is shown in drug ads. There are always smiling old people playing golf and drinking juice. In reality, the happiness of a pensioner is a quiet morning, a call from a grandchild, a jar of pickled cucumbers that doesn't need to be turned. It's a time when you can finally not rush. Let's be honest and without embellishments: what brings joy to a person who has retired.

Freedom from the alarm clock

The main happiness is not to wake up at 6 AM to the sound of an alarm. A pensioner wakes up when they want. They can lie in bed, listen to the silence, or, on the contrary, the singing of birds. It's a feeling that the day belongs to you alone. No one demands a report, no one hurries. You can drink coffee for an hour, flipping through old photos. You can even stay home if it's bad weather outside. Freedom from a schedule is something young people would give a lot for, and pensioners get as a bonus.

Grandchildren - an antidepressant

For many pensioners, the main happiness is their grandchildren. When a little person runs towards you, shouting "grandpa!" or "baba!" - all ailments are forgotten. You can spoil your grandchildren without worrying about spoiling them (parents will still educate them). You can read fairy tales that were not read to you as a child because there was no time. With grandchildren, you can be a child again: make a snowman, launch a kite, play checkers. And not think about tomorrow's accountability. Many pensioners admit: for these moments, they are willing to endure any inconvenience.

The dacha and its philosophy

For some, the dacha is a punishment. For a pensioner, it's happiness. Happiness is to see the first sprout of dill, eat a cucumber plucked from the garden five seconds ago, drink tea with mint grown with your own hands. The dacha is not work. It's an opportunity to feel needed. The earth does not deceive: as much work you put in, as much you get. And when the harvest is gathered, there is peace in the heart. The dacha gives a sense of independence: here is my cucumber, my jar, my life. Moreover, it's fresh air, better than any sanatorium.

Communication without obligations

A pensioner is happy when they can just sit on a bench with a neighbor. Chat about the weather, politics, new drugs. No business meetings, no deadlines. Just live communication, which is so lacking in the hustle and bustle. You can go to the library and leisurely choose books, talk to the librarian. You can visit an old friend with whom you worked 40 years ago and remember youth. This communication does not need to be planned a month in advance - it's spontaneous, and therefore, alive.

Little joys of everyday life

Happy moments are hidden in the small things: baking a pie that didn't burn; calling the clinic for the first time; seeing through the window that the electricity bill has come, and it's less than expected; receiving a package from relatives from another city; finding your favorite tomato variety at the market. Young people often don't notice this. For a pensioner, each such little thing is a gift from fate.

Morning without hurry and evening without hustle

Happiness is to spend the morning with a cup of tea and a newspaper (or a tablet). When you don't run anywhere, but just look out the window, as the snow falls or the leaves rustle. It's a time of slow existence. A pensioner is happy when their schedule is not scheduled by the minute, but consists of points such as "lie down," "read," "watch a series," "go to the store for bread." The ability to do nothing is also an art, and it is mastered to perfection in old age.

Memory of the past

Happiness is flipping through old albums and remembering youth. Here I am at a demonstration, here I am at a wedding, here I am with my son in the park. These memories warm the soul. A pensioner can talk for hours to their grandchildren about how they lived without the internet, how they stood in lines, how they built the BAM. For them, it's not nostalgia for a gray past, but a feeling that life has been lived for a reason. A happy moment is when a photograph comes to life in your head, and you are young, strong, full of hope.

The happiness of a pensioner is silence. Internal and external. When there are no debts, loans, bosses, and unfulfilled plans behind you. There is only you and this day. And the opportunity to fill it with what you like. Don't miss this feeling, even if you are still far from retirement. Learn to be happy with the little things now. Then old age will not be a burden.

Permanent link to this publication: