Retirement doesn’t have to just mean “stop working.” Hear as Judy and Harold Lewis talk about what they’ve done to find significance in their retirement.
Transcript for Episode 3 of the Retirement Readiness Podcast:
Tim Regan (0:08)
Hi, and welcome to this episode of Retirement Readiness podcast. Today, we had the joy of having Harold and Judy Lewis join us for this episode, where we’re going to be focused on talking about what it means to have significance in retirement. As usual, PrairieView Wealth Partners is here as a family-focused, faith-centered wealth management and investment planning company. We’re here to help you and to partner with you on your journey through retirement readiness. So Harold and Judy, the reason we asked you to be on the show today is because of all the clients we have. First, your great friends of ours. And then secondly, as we think about what it means to really live a fulfilled retirement and what it means to to find purpose in retirement, we felt like you to have had a great story, and we’d love to hear your story a little bit. So would you give me just a couple of minutes. Tell me a little bit about your background? What kind of work did you do? And how long have you been retired?
Judy Lewis (1:07)
Well, I’ll start out. I’ve been retired 10 years. I was an administrator and marketing vice president of senior living communities, and had the pleasure of helping start up a local senior community called Smith Crossing. I have nearly 40 years of healthcare experience total and have enjoyed my pathway to retirement.
Harold Lewis (1:37)
I was an educator for 38 years and retired in the year 2000 and moved to Orland Park to be with Judy, as she created this new community apparently, which we live in now.
Tim Regan (1:52)
That’s outstanding. And so as you guys are new, you obviously had some pretty full and exciting lives while you’re working. As you transitioned into retirement, how did you find yourself filling your time? Did you start retirement with a plan? You knew exactly what you wanted to do? Or did you feel through it and figure it out as you went?
Judy Lewis (2:11)
Well, that’s an interesting question. We actually didn’t have a plan at the point of retirement, other than again, moving up up from the St. Louis area to Orland Park. And we just sort of helped along the way, taking the necessary steps to find out what was fulfilling for us. But I know, when I first retired, I decided that I wanted to be involved with the local church, and I volunteered there for at least three years, trying to be able to give back part of my talents. So I found a lot of fulfillment in that aspect. And I know you had other plans. You tried it.
Harold Lewis (3:00)
Yeah, you’re right. I’ve always been active in athletics and things like that, and extreme sports and had planned to continue that till I was 150 years old and decided that, you know, maybe I needed to slow down a little bit. Maybe support Judy, a little bit more involved in the senior living community sort of thing.
Tim Regan (3:22)
You talked a little bit about scaling back. Tell me a little bit about what scaling back for you guys means. It seems like you’ve been pretty active here during retirement. You know, have you skied at all? Have you done any bike riding? You know, give me a little bit sense with how you filled your time.
Harold Lewis (3:39)
Well, we discovered snow skiing several years ago, and we transitioned doing that, and we skied in about 278 resorts worldwide. And we traveled back and forth to Europe and Canada and all the western states and eastern states and the Midwest. And that was kind of part of our winter activities. And then the summertime, we transitioned into bicycling, and we bicycle over the Midwest, in California and places like that. And we thought, gee, we’re just always going to be on the fast track until I had an accident.
Judy Lewis (4:13)
Yeah. So we’ve continued our active lifestyle, partially based on our physical needs, and we thought we would still at our ages… I’m 77. And he’ll be 82. We would still be skiing or riding bicycles. But he had an unfortunate accident on the bicycle and we found replacements for that. So now we are still very active riding recumbent tricycles, up to 10-15 miles every other day and we also walk in our community. We have a lot of paths. We have a lot of forest preserves around and a lot of areas to keep active and so physically, we are still staying as active as we can. And then we have another little toy that we enjoy. It’s a slingshot made by Polaris, and it’s an auto cycle. So we’re expanding our outdoor activities because we pack lunches and we go to the forest preserves and enjoy that and then enjoy the back roads of country roads, just exploring the whole area. So we are keeping active physically. And then I know that there’s also the mental and spiritual part that we still like to keep active, so we can expand on that as well.
Tim Regan (5:41)
Yeah, for sure. If you would, tell me a little bit about where have you found your ability to plug in and find significance? Obviously, it’s really important, as you mentioned, to have the physical side, and obviously you two are a testament to how good of shape you’re in. But give me a sense on the significant side and your spiritual part. Where do you guys plug in and how are you active there?
Harold Lewis (6:02)
Well, we’re members of Parkview Christian Church, which is here in Orland Park, and Judy has done a lot of volunteering and I’ve worked with a summer program for the kids. And so for us, and with COVID, we were kind of out doing everything virtually. And now we’re back in the pew and, once again, community. And that’s very important to us to connect that way and stay active and do what we can for God.
Judy Lewis (6:30)
Through living at Smith Crossing, we have a lot of opportunities to be fulfilled. With our talents, I do a lot of decorating, especially at Christmas. We were not totally involved as much as we would like at this point. We’ve been there for two and a half years, following his accident. And it’s a wonderful community to be able to serve in a number of ways, you know, lots of activities, lots of ways that you can participate. We actually are helping. It sounds silly, but we are “silver rollers,” because staffing issues and so forth. Volunteers from the community are doing things to help with the dining area. So we roll silverware a couple of times a week, just to help the staff so that they’re not burdened with that, and it brings a sense of fulfillment that we can do that. So that’s how we stay as active as we can, you know, where we live.
Tim Regan (7:37)
Yeah, for sure. And when you talk about where you live, maybe if somebody’s not familiar with what Smith Crossing is, why don’t you tell us a little bit about your community and what it means to you guys? And how has that transition been for you?
Harold Lewis (7:52)
Well, you know, from my personal viewpoint is that, once again, it’s a plan in place, and every amenity is available. You’re still in community, with people who have come from various backgrounds and hear their stories and what they’ve done and their successes, and it’s just a safe environment. And I don’t have to worry about cutting grass, you know, worried about shoveling snow and things like that. So it just fulfills that need to sit back and have that time to ourselves and not have to do all the work.
Judy Lewis (8:28)
Well, and to add on to that. It’s a life plan community. And I believe, Tim, you all were instrumental in helping us determine that, yes, this would work within our financial status. That was very important to us, that we could be able to afford a community like this because it is a plan in place for the rest of our life. And we looked at it as a gift to each other and a gift to our children that we have made the decision because it has all the independent living pieces, and then there’s assisted living, there’s skilled care, there’s a rehab place and memory support. So everything is in place. And it takes the burden from us and for our children not to have to make those decisions in a crisis situation. So we thought that was very important. And again, you all were instrumental in helping guide us to that final decision. What was pulling us there? Well, unfortunately, it was the accident prompted us to go there sooner. But that structured our plan in place for the rest of our life.
Tim Regan (9:45)
Yeah, and so when you think about the rest of life, one of the things that has always struck me with you guys, is really your ability to continue to adapt and continue to find purpose and continue to do the things that you love to do throughout your life. So when you think about, kind of, this next phase of life, what are the things that are on your bucket list? Do you have anything left? It sounds like you’ve done just about everything. Was there anything else left on that bucket list? And and do you think you’ll continue to find purpose going forward?
Harold Lewis (10:14)
You got your bucket list?
Judy Lewis (10:16)
We don’t really have a bucket list. We look at every day as a gift. So waking up in the morning is a great gift. We certainly like to be with family, but they’re all over the country. And it’s not as easy for us to travel. So we’ve cut back on traveling in that respect. But I think sharing every day, every moment, we can in a positive manner. That’s really what fulfills me. And if I can do some creative writing, and I like to read and we also get to enjoy our walks together. But it’s trying to find that balance and what keeps us motivated, and what gives us that total fulfillment. But we want to continue to be a reflection of what Christ wants us to be. And to get us to that point. I think that’s always the center of what we are.
Tim Regan (11:19)
Well, I think that one of the things that you have shared with me in the past, is that that many times you look to see how can you live out the the role that God has created you to play? Is there anything that you find in retirement that you’re able to do differently than you’re able to do when you were working?
Judy Lewis (11:38)
Very good question.
Harold Lewis (11:39)
We have time now.
Judy Lewis (11:40)
Yes, we really do.
Harold Lewis (11:42)
You know, so our focus, you know, doesn’t have to be on our occupation or what we’re doing. But to sit back and enjoy the latter years of life, and have that fulfillment that Judy talks about. It’s so important.
Judy Lewis (11:54)
You know, one of the things that we also enjoy being at Smith Crossing, we’re surrounded by so many people with so many wonderful backgrounds. So we’re enjoying hearing their stories, and hopefully, again, hanging on to positivity. And the Christ-like, mentality. That’s our ultimate goal – to make sure that we reflect that as he would want us to do. So I think that having the time now available, without all the maintenance associated with homeowners, and all those other things, although we have a special needs son, that we still have to care for long distance wise, but it’s working out very well. But that’s turned out to be a blessing for us, too, so we get to see a perspective of life through his needs that we weren’t otherwise exposed to. And we’ve turned that into a blessing for us as well. So we just try to look at each day as a special day and a new adventure.
Tim Regan (13:05)
Well, if I remember right. Now that you got that slingshot that you were mentioning, Judy, you’re able to see some different parts of the back country roads and that kind of stuff. If I remember, right, were you telling me about a favorite restaurant down on Route 66? Am I remembering that correctly?
Harold Lewis (13:24)
Yeah, that’s one of our long distance trips. It’s not that far away. I’ve always been drawn to the outdoors, I think both of us have. And we just love getting off interstates and just showing, you know, we don’t have to go fast. We just want to have fun together and get some good food and delight and talk about old times and it’s just so peaceful and relaxing. That’s kind of in our wheelhouse.
Judy Lewis (13:47)
Right. But we’re trying to maximize the time together that we have as well and find ways that we know that we can bring enjoyment to each other. So that’s a part of our retirement. And we didn’t know that was going to happen when we retired and we’ve been able to build on it successfully.
Tim Regan (14:05)
Yeah, for sure. And one of the things that I remember about you guys, too, and let me know if I’m correct. When you talk about life and to ride your bike, did you just write for what, like, 1 or 2 miles a day? Is that was that your normal routine? What was what was your normal routine when you were actively in retirement?
Harold Lewis (14:22)
Well, I had a running background prior to that. So it’s basically the same kind of workout, you know, you do easy days, hard days, 30 mile long rides, 100 mile rides on special occasions. And, you know, that was dictating what I was doing. I would probably still continue to do that, you know, as long as the body would hold up, but, you know, God had a plan and that’s okay. And I don’t miss that. It’s just a just happy memory. So yeah, we stay pretty active.
Judy Lewis (14:53)
Yeah. And we still do and hopefully we are encouraging to the residents at Smith Crossing. They see us out and about and they’re always curious about our recumbent tricycles. And even offering to take some of the the really older people in their 90s for a ride in the slingshot, and they’re embracing that. So we’re having fun with that as well.
Tim Regan (15:18)
That’s really cool. Well, if I remember it, you’re talking about trying to spend a lot of time together and that kind of stuff. Judy, you didn’t ride your bicycle quite as long as Harold did or have it as far as bigger distances? If I remember right? Am I remembering that you guys actually had a, like a pedal assist or something that would help to do that you guys could ride together and go for longer distances than maybe you normally would?
Judy Lewis (15:40)
Right. Well, that’s what our recumbent tricycles, right! We’ve added ESS to that because I have an ankle problem and had issues last year with riding the hills. Some of the hills in the forest reserve. So my husband, graciously purchased those and had them placed on our tricycles and we can now go a long distance now 15 miles for ride on the tricycles. And people that see us on the sidewalks or in the subdivisions love what they see, and they always wave and smile. And so that’s kind of where we are with the trikes.
Tim Regan (16:23)
Yeah, well, and for me, as I think about you guys, part of your story and as you’ve told it is really the story that we’re hoping to hear about how as you enter retirement, you know, you have all of this stuff that that’s taking up all of your time. Before retirement, you’re at work and things to do around the house and kids that you have to take care of, and you know, all that kind of stuff. And then as you enter retirement, all of a sudden that starts to go away. And you’ll find that you have more time that’s available to you. And as we’ve we’ve talked here a little bit, I really enjoyed hearing your story and seeing your journey as you guys went from that busy working lifestyle, to continuing to be active and continuing to travel and downhill ski and do all those things. But then as things continued to change, you made some adjustments along the way as well. And to the point where even now finding a way to continue to ride your bike following Harold’s accident, and even having the ESS down there. And hey, if that doesn’t work, let’s go to the slingshot type of thing. So I appreciate you guys taking the time to sit on this conversation and help us as we look at “How do you find purpose in retirement, and how do you make that shift?” Before we wrap up this episode, is there anything that you would like to add or anything that comes to mind from your perspective?
Judy Lewis (17:42)
Well, I would like to add one thing. My husband Lou, we call him, of course, has a saying and I think it’s something that we’re both grasping, and it’s called “Champions adjust.” So from the active lifestyle and busyness of careers that we both had transitioning into retirement, we didn’t know what to expect. And I think that that particular little saying “champions adjust,” if people hang on to that, I think you can move forward and still have a wonderful, fulfilling life.
Harold Lewis (18:23)
One of the things I might add, Tim, I just recently I rediscovered a saying that Jean Paul said many years ago. He says, “Live your life and forget your age.” And it kind of sums us up, right?
Judy Lewis (18:38)
That’s correct.
Tim Regan (18:40)
Yeah, I think that the both of those things do. The way that I know you guys, they absolutely do and represent the way that you live your life. So again, thank you for taking the time to be with us today. As we wrap up this episode of Retirement Readiness show, I would just like to thank Lou and Judy for being a part of this and being guests on our show, where again, at PrairieView, our focus is on family-focused, faith-centered financial planning and investment advice. We hope that you’ll join us again in the future. Until then, be well. We hope to live help you live your legacy with confidence. Thank you.
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