Helen Dennis

In last week’s column, K.M. had recently retired from her management job in Iowa and relocated to a retirement community in sunny Southern California. She’d given little thought about what she would do with her time: She finds pickleball, clubs and other activities in her complex less than satisfying. She asks, “How do I create a more fulfilling life?” Having a purpose is part of the answer to a fulfilling retirement experience. The search is an important one with no shortage

Q. I am a divorced women age 67 and lost my job due to the pandemic. Being eligible for retirement and having no family close by, I thought it was a good time to move from Iowa to a sunny senior community. Unfortunately, I did not think about what retirement would actually look like. Now I am at a loss. The clubs, pickleball and other activities just don’t do it for me after a 35-year management position. Is retirement a process and how do I get to a more fulfilling life? K.M

Many of the questions I receive from our readers deal with a fundamental issue: ageism. Their emails and letters express frustration and annoyance with ageism as the core of their issue. Here are a few examples: “The job interviewer seemed to be surprised the way I looked when I entered the office for an interview. Perhaps it was my gray hair.” (This was pre-pandemic). “My health-care professional speaks only to my daughter who is in the examining room with me; I feel invisib