Retirement Is a Full Time Job

I gave this book as a gift to a male friend when he retired. I was actually surprised at how much he, and his wife, enjoyed browsing through it. This is a great, inexpensive gift!

Every year I'm reminded that getting older is often treated with humor. When I got to pick out birthday cards for my Mom, sister, wife, sons, daughter, and daughters-in-law, I notice that there seem to be ever more cards about wrinkles holding up the face, body parts starting to fall down, and being forgetful (now, what was I writing about?). At the same time, my newly retired friends and relatives tell me that retirement is a bigger transition than they expected. Wives don't necessarily enjoy having husbands around under foot all day. Husbands may miss not having important tasks to do (at least more important than taking out the garbage). We all like to look at animal pictures. Why? I think they remind us of ourselves. How often does a dog owner look a lot like the dog? Bonnie Louise Kuchler put all these influences together and has created a great gag gift book that would be ideal to take to someone's 60th or 65th birthday or retirement party rather than just giving another one of those "humorous" cards. Retirement Is a Full-Time Job and You're the Boss! is in a small-size format which makes the messages tickle you, rather than rain all over your self image. Here are a few of my favorites in the book: -A cat lies on its back in a hammock between two plastic palms across from the message: "If retirement is a brand new journey, a nap is a good first step." -Two bears are trying to snag a salmon jumping upstream across from this message: "You'll have time to go fishing with friends . . ." -A duck is face-down in the water stretching for something across from this message: " . . . or go fishing for golf balls." -An owl peers with a wink from a hole in a tree trunk across from this message: "You'll have time to watch neighbors . . ." -A chimpanzee lies on its back picking its teeth with a stick across from this message: "You'll finally have time to stretch out in the grass and contemplate the clouds." -A puppy is covered with feathers across from this message: "A retired husband is often a wife's full-time job." -A Dalmatian is sitting with a lampshade on its head next to a lamp without a shade next to this message: "You may find that you misplace things." -Two penguins stand back-to-back on ice next to this message: "You might even misplace your house." -Two blue-footed boobies are next to this message: "Dust off your dancing shoes!" -A prairie dog looks blindly in the air next to this message: "The problem is not so much resisting temptation as finding it." -A goose sits on its tail flapping its wings next to this message: "When you talk about 'balance,' you'll no longer be talking about juggling work and family." -A pair of beautiful flying swans is next to this message: "You can take off on new adventures." -Three penguins walking with wings touching are next to this message: "You can take a daily stroll with friends." -One goose waddles well ahead of a line of waddling geese next to this message: "Or you can take the highw