Tell her to get a boat. You can fish, you can island hop and beach comb, you can take friends out, you can tinker. People with boats always have something to do.

My father is in the same boat, OP.

He may look into consulting work in his field, and since he likes the outdoors and working with his hands, he may move from his city flat into a leafy suburb and go hiking regularly from there, or maybe garden a little bit.

It's weird. I practically never saw my father growing up, he was working all the time. The change is going to be difficult!

Anonymous wrote:Thank you to all the posters with helpful responses.

I realize she is capable and can make her own decisions. And, for the poster that thinks how she has chosen to spend her work life requires therapy, I am sorry that you do not know the joy of being truly engaged in your work and deriving tremendous satisfaction from it.

This is a really big change that she did not choose. A person that is highly capable in one area of their life can be unnerved by having this significant of a change.

The suggestion re the Air and Space Museum is awesome.

I think that your heart is in the right place and that looking for volunteer opportunities is a good idea. If she feels a bit lost and rattling around maybe there is a Meetup group that she could join.

Thank you to all the posters with helpful responses.

I realize she is capable and can make her own decisions. And, for the poster that thinks how she has chosen to spend her work life requires therapy, I am sorry that you do not know the joy of being truly engaged in your work and deriving tremendous satisfaction from it.

This is a really big change that she did not choose. A person that is highly capable in one area of their life can be unnerved by having this significant of a change.

The suggestion re the Air and Space Museum is awesome.

How about tutoring kids in math and science?

Where does she live? DC, MD, VA? That would help narrow the options. Does she enjoy one-on-one contact with people or would she prefer to volunteer behind the scenes? What are her hobbies? Ideally, if she can find a volunteer position that she enjoys, she will feel fulfilled and more relaxed. Alternately, if she still wants to work, she could consider some contract positions. With her experience, I am sure that plenty of defense contractors would like to add her to their rosters.

My neighbor is a retired military engineer and is now a docent at the Air and Space Museum at Dulles. He loves it.

OP, I think a person like your mother will do best if she keeps busy. Does she enjoy traveling? There are many senior groups she could tour with. Perhaps she could devote her talents to volunteering for an organization?

She sounds like a very capable, responsible person, Op. I would ask HER about whether or not she would like to see a financial planner.

Therapy. There's no virtue in working that hard. None.

My mother has been somewhat of a workaholic her entire life. She is an engineer in her early 70s in the defense contracting world and recently has been laid off. She is having to adjust to the non working world for the first time in 50 plus years.

Financially I believe she is fine. I do not know hard numbers, but I have an educated guess that she has a couple of million in retirement accounts. She is single with 3 adult children that are mostly independent but she likes to help out financially on occasion. For example she wants to help my younger sister with a downpayment on a condo. She also is putting money away for her grandchildren's college educations.

None of us want her to spend money she cannot afford. I do not think there is any animosity towards unfairness in the ways she helps us financially, we are all three at very different points in our lives.

I would like her to see a financial advisor and I also am looking for resources on ways for seniors that are still quite agile and mentally acute to volunteer or identify interest they can pursue. She has worked extremely hard her whole life and has pretty much always been a giver when it comes to her family and I really want her to create a post working life she enjoys. She may well live another 20 years, she is healthy and longevity runs in her family.

Any advice re financial websites geared towards financial planning for the recently retired or other retirement resources is much appreciated. Recommendations for good financial planners in the northern VA area also are welcome. Thanks in advance.