What's Worth Your Time in Retirement?

A smiling older man practices acoustic guitar at home.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

In doing the hard work of writing this column, I came to frame its evolving concept as: “French Cinema vs the Trailer Park Boys.” The idea popped into my head during a conversation with my wife, Pam, about how much sense it makes to “invest” in certain activities in semi-retirement or retirement.

Many readers are presumably rocketing toward or have matured beyond my age of 71, so you may not be familiar with the Trailer Park Boys oeuvre. The 12-season series’ intricate plot follows the fictional adventures of three foul-mouthed, pot-smoking, petty criminals, one of whom is a shopping cart thief and repairman named “Bubbles,” in a Nova Scotia trailer park. I started watching the show in a gloomy phase of my life. It does not require the slightest investment of time or brainpower to appreciate its hilariousness.

The same cannot be said for, say, French director Louis Malle’s 1987 film Au Revoir Les Enfants, which I’ve been meaning to watch for years. Sadly, after investing mightily in learning French in college, the Spanish I’d labored to learn in junior high and high school flooded back into my brain, creating a new, blended language even I don’t understand.

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What's worth my time?

Is it worth it to plunge back into my study of French just to fully enjoy films such as Malle’s reported masterpiece, even though it’s unlikely that I have enough time left to achieve my youthful ambition of becoming a famous expat writer, sipping Bordeaux and reading Baudelaire at a Parisian café whose saucy proprietress always greets me with the same flirtatious, “Bonjour, Monsieur Bob”?

Looking for perspective, I called a friend. When each of Deniene’s children went to college, she told them: “This is your big growth moment, when you can really become the person you want to be.” After they were flourishing as adults, Deniene realized that this could be such a moment for her, too. She began investing significant time learning to play the cello and resumed her study of piano, which she’d shown a gift for as a child.

I’ve watched her, fingers flying, head bobbing as she coaxes soulful nuance from Debussy’s "Pour le Piano." But practicing has got to be as annoying now as it was when it kept her from playing tether ball with her friends, and with less chance that her investment will lead to an offer from the LA Philharmonic, right?

“I get a lot just from learning how to play the notes,” Deniene said. “Is it a short staccato or something more drawn out?” Practicing can frustrate, for sure, but the little breakthroughs are hugely satisfying, sometimes sublime.

“Not many people can go there,” she said. “It’s the same with . . . sports, music. You need to invest time to get to where you can really enjoy it.”

How I'm investing my time

I’ve decided it’s time to enjoy more French films — without the agony of studying French again. But I’ve recalculated another investment decision.

First, I’ve started volunteering with elementary school students, few of whom speak English.

Second, our son is engaged to a spectacular woman whose father is more nimble in Spanish than English. After a weekend with him and his wife and family and friends in Baja California, Mexico, I realized that even If I only live long enough to understand a little bit more of and contribute a touch more to my soon-to-be extended family’s dazzling conversations, the ROI will be hugely rewarding.

Meanwhile, I can assuage my guilt for indulging in "Trailer Park Boys" now and then because watching "Los Muchachos del Parque del Acoplados" in Spanish is now an investment in personal growth.

Note: This item first appeared in Kiplinger Retirement Report, our popular monthly periodical that covers key concerns of affluent older Americans who are retired or preparing for retirement. Subscribe for retirement advice that’s right on the money.

A career journalist and communications professional, Sipchen has been a reporter, columnist, blogger and editor at the Los Angeles Times, where he shared the 2002 Pulitzer Prize and the Society of Professional Journalists’ Sigma Delta Chi award for editorial writing (with Alex Raksin). He also shared, as an editor, the Times 2016 Pulitzer Prize for team coverage of the San Bernardino Terrorist Attack and, as a reporter, the 1992 Pulitzer for team coverage of the Los Angeles riots. Sipchen is a visiting full professor at Occidental College.