Cold water wake-up for a Baby Boomer like me

Retirement news topped children's achievements in this year's Christmas letters from old college housemates. Teaching was never an option for me as it was for so many of my friends. Now they are reaping the benefits of retirement pensions after over thirty years in the classroom.

The letters did give me pause. I am lightyears from that stage of life. Sandwiched between my teenagers' looming college tuitions and the needs of my elderly parents, I have had to accept my financial realities as a single parent. Retirement is not in my picture in this decade or the next.

I'm not alone.

Reuters journalist Svea Herbet-Bayliss, writes that millions of Americans are finding that they will have to continue working during their supposed retirement years. That realization is turning their world upside down -- changing everything on where they might live, what they might do in their golden years and ultimately WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT IN LIFE.

She cites a poll commissioned by financial firm Thivent Financial for Lutherans. Faced with the cold hard fact that they have not saved enough to live out their years comfortably, 43 percent of Americans say they will have to re-enter the work force almost as soon as they leave it. BUT, they said they would try to find less stressful employment after retirement.

Let's go back to the point about, "what is most important in life."

Being useful, experiencing new things and developing my talents have always been a priority for me. That hasn't stopped because I've turned 55. I'm actually more excited about my "tomorrow's" than I ever was.

I don't think I'm alone in that assessment of my so-called golden years. Hey! I'm a boomer! We've always done things differently than our parents! It's not surprising that our approach to retirement would be different too.

Financial choices will always be there. Choosing to focus on what is genuine in our lives, regardless of the size of bank accounts, will enable each of us to individually discover "what is most important in life!"