Creating an Active Retirement

Nurturing Your Hobbies and Interests

By Shannon McKelden

Besides volunteering, Burg keeps physically active, exercising several times a week to stay limber and flexible. She attends classes and lectures at her local senior center and volunteers there, as well. "All that I do keeps my mind and my body active," she says. "That is very important to me."

Noreen Reffalt of Kennewick, Wash., created an active retirement. "I started revisiting old hobbies that had gotten put aside when I worked," she says. "I signed up for some classes at a craft store, which rekindled a fondness for tole painting." She was able to expand this hobby when her husband, Don, retired. He had an interest in woodworking, so she put him to work cutting out projects for her to paint. "He also rekindled a love he had in high school, where he made a lamp out of twisted juniper from Wyoming. Since he's retired, he has been able to complete several lamps."

Reffalt hasn't limited herself to just one interest either, allowing herself to go with the flow. When the tole painting store closed, she tried clogging, which she had done briefly in the past. Next came knitting, where she joined a large group that contributed to organizations like Project Linus

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