The aging work force

There are days when I just take life by the horns and get on with it. The last few days just haven't been one of them. It's hard enough just getting the energy to turn off the alarm clock. I guess we all have days like that once in a while. It's just my turn is all.
Then there are those days when I get up with a purpose in mind. For example, today I'm going to work at the church, while Sandra is at her hairdresser's getting her hair thinned and cut. If there is a job that needs doing, or someplace I need to be, it's not nearly so hard to get out from under the covers. There is a lot to be said for an active life. Or at least a busy one.
That is where so many people make a critical mistake in life. They work fifty-plus years towards their retirement, and then suddenly find themselves with nothing to do. My father-in-law made that mistake, and consequently died of a heart attack from eating fatty foods and lack of exercise.
Retirement planning should be more about what you want to do than how much money you have put away to do it. After all, how can you know if you will be able to afford retired life if you haven't planned how to spend that time? There is a great commercial on television, where a couple go in to the bank to discuss their retirement plan with the investment banker. He thinks that retirement is all about sitting around reading the paper and taking it easy. Meanwhile, she is holding up signs, saying that they will take tennis lessons and tour Brazil.
I think that, now that people are living so much longer, retirements have to be thought out a little better. It might not be such a good idea to just stop working simply because you are sixty-five. If you really like what you do, and are good at it, why stop? Maybe just cut down the workload to where it's more of an occupation than a job. There is a lot the older worker has to offer today's labour pool.
When you think about it, our population is very much in the process of getting older. A lot of the skilled trades people are reaching the age where they cannot continue the heavy work they did. Is there any reason that some of the older folks couldn't handle some of this new information age stuff, and the young people learn to work with their hands? In a very short time, finding a decent mechanic or machinist is going to be like trying to find a doctor.
I just hope that some older people will be willing to stay in the labour pool when the baby boomers are all hitting retirement age. If not, there is going to be one labour shortage, and I don't think we can bring in enough help from foreign countries to cover the gaps. As I say, there are signs of it already. If the government doesn't start accepting foreign trained, we are in deep trouble.
This post didn't go anywhere like the way I thought it would. Still, that might be for the better.