“Now that you are retired, it’s time to play pickleball all day, every day.”
That’s the message from the front of a retirement card. It reflects the growing popularity of pickleball in the United States, especially among older adults. According to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association, pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in the country. An article in TIME observes, “More than half (52%) of core [pickleball] players—those who play eight or more times a year—are 55 or older, and almost a third (32.7%) are 65-plus.”
If playing pickleball all day, every day isn’t your cup of tea, perhaps you’d rather have the poster that proclaims, “Retirement To Do List . . . Play Golf.”
Both the card and the poster bear witness to the popular view that retirement is mainly a time to play. For some, it’s pickleball or golf. For others, it’s cribbage or Wordle. For many retirees, travel is a delightful form of play, as is hanging out with friends or grandchildren. No matter the form it takes, play can be seen as the main point of retirement. “You worked hard for decades,” or so the story goes, “now it’s your turn to play.”
But, I wonder, is this a good way to think about retirement? If we want to flourish in this third of life—to live fully, fruitfully, and faithfully—where should play fit into our lives? Can play help us flourish? Or might it actually get in the way?
