It may be the "C" word of commitment that scares twentysomethings, but put a group of 50-pluses together and it's the "R" word -- RETIREMENT.
Every time a group of us is together, the when, how and why of retirement get into the discussion. It frightens the heck out of me.

My grandfather retired at 65, simply because his children said he deserved to. From that day on, he literally did nothing. After all, he was retired.

My father-in-law followed the same path, only he did do something -- sat at the kitchen table and sorted mail, all day. Every time my husband wants to know if the mail has arrived, I have flashbacks of his father and react negatively.
My mother spends her day (every day) meeting friends for lunch -- my stomach and diet couldn't handle that. I know other relatives that once they had all day to spend at the doctors' offices or shopping for sale items, did just that.

I know that some friends are planning to move when they retire, but I like my house. Golf is not my sport, so you won't see me trekking across the greens all day long. I hate exercise, so working out for hours in a gym is also not an option. I have always spent time doing community service and volunteering, so that is nothing new. Traveling is great, but it is not a full-time hobby. So, what is a reluctant member of AARP to do?

I have an older friend and soul mate who took advantage of a retirement offer three years ago. After six months of hated retirement, she found a job at a university. After a year, she was back to her old employer as a part-time employee. After two years, she was back working full time -- and much happier.

Call it a work ethic, call it what you want, some people need to be productive in their own way. So, if you are not ready to stop what you enjoy, just lie and tell people you aren't old enough to retire.