A pandemic retirement

This is one in a series of articles written by a Lawrencian originally published in the ‘Ostholsteiner Anzeiger’ in Eutin, Germany on March 4, 2021. See the German article.

by Joe Pierron and Diana Carlin
German translation by Arne Scholz and Bill Keel

After 30 years as a judge on the Kansas Court of Appeals, Joe was scheduled for his last hearings on March 17 followed by a reception in the courthouse in his home county where his legal career began. Another reception was scheduled at the Judicial Center in Topeka where the Court resides. Retirement was scheduled for April 3. Instead, we started shelter at home on March 16. The cookies that look like Joe were frozen until receptions can safely occur. We have no idea when that will be.

Retirement is supposed to be a time for travel, spending time with grandchildren, volunteering, and taking up new pursuits. With a pandemic retirement, plans changed. Most of the seven new activities on Joe’s retirement list must wait. He did, however, go on a board for retirees (New Generation Society) in Lawrence and works with Ralph and Martha Gage.

Diana “retired” five years ago, but her schedule would suggest otherwise. For her, it was more a matter of shifting work on boards such as Sister Cities Lawrence and NAFSA: Association of International Educators from city hall and Washington, DC to a choice of rooms in the house for a Zoom call.

We are not alone in missing grandchildren or seeing them from a driveway or in a backyard with masks while our hearts break as we see little arms lifting to be picked up and try to explain that we can’t pick them up today. Grandparents who never heard of Zoom before March 2020 are now experts. Holiday cards feature Zoom screenshots rather than in-person photos.

Like many of our retired friends, we updated our wills (yes, lawyers are doing well), cleaned out closets, basements, and attics. Goodwill in Lawrence had long lines for safe donations, and that was a nationwide trend.

We joined countless other retirees in taking virtual museum tours—including some by daughter Abby, a museum expert, who curated a new collection of Judaica. Joe took six Osher Lifelong Learning classes through the University of Kansas, and Diana taught four classes for Osher with many of our retired friends in her classes and Joe’s. We read dozens of books and binged countless hours on Netflix, Starz, and Amazon. Diana also gave speeches online for several clubs and associations on the 100th anniversary of US women getting the right to vote. She wrote six opinion pieces with two on CNN Online. Joe has a program on the Constitution that he does in schools and he converted it to a virtual program and presented it for two classes in Topeka. Keeping the brain active in retirement is a goal for most of us, and the pandemic gave us new ways to do it.

We did venture out of state by car to Wyoming and Montana in August (Diana said she felt as if she was committing a crime when we left the city limits). COVID numbers were low in those states at the time and many or our retired friends also headed to those states and Colorado for a change of scenery. We have no idea when we will set foot on a plane or cruise ship or visit friends in Eutin or other countries in Europe. Like so many other retirees we regret that our “golden years” just shrunk by 12-18 months, but we are well and safe. Like so many other retirees, we have a steady income, no fear of job loss, and health insurance. We learned to make lemonade from lemons. With vaccine distribution we are hopeful that some type of “normal” is in our future and those cookies will come out the freezer for a party that will mean even more now.

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Authors Diana Carlin and Joe Pierron have been active participants in Sister Cities Lawrence; Diana is currently serving as secretary of the Governing Board. Carlin is a retired professor of Communications, having also served in administration most recently at St. Louis University. G. Joseph, “Joe” Pierron served as judge on the Kansas Court of Appeals in Topeka from 1990 to 2020 and is enjoying a well-deserved retirement.