Against the grain

Retirement hits some people hard. And when my father retired, no one was harder hit than my mother and us two sisters. With time hanging heavy on his hands and nothing much to do but try Mum’s patience and dole out long-winded advice much too often on Shirley’s legal cases, Dad had soon picked up the not-so-subtle hints about doing something better with himself than just being Man of the House. Tiring of the charms of daytime television, he had begun to hunt in earnest for a proper little hobby with which to keep himself occupied. After having steadily taken up and discarded solitaire (too slow)...
Read the full article in the February 2010 issue of Work Life Group's Career Stories 2010 Competition

or

Request to read the original article via email for just 99p! (T&C apply)

2050 words
Humour
US publication
***********************

Words from the Wise

"It is an entertaining story"

Jennifer Stackhouse

Editor

ABC Gardening Australia

"We enjoyed it"

Sandra Costich

Associate Editor

American Scholar

"Yours is a charming story--lively and whimsical... I enjoyed the story of your father's post-retirement 'employment' "

H. Emerson Blake

Editor

Orion

"Nice story. I enjoyed it"

Pat Stone

Editor

GreenPrints

"This was very enjoyable to read"

Lorna Loveless

Editor

BackHome

"I really enjoyed reading your piece... It is quite funny - I especially liked the ending, I too could picture those pain-spattered walls. You're a very talented writer with good instincts for intriguing stories"

Paula Jolin

Manuscript Reader

Sun

"You are clearly a talented writer"

Alison Weaver

Founding Editor

H.O.W. Journal