Dear Eric: I retired early and don’t know what to say when people ask derisively “what do you do all day?” Any sassy comebacks?

– Out of Office

Dear Office: Try this: “What do I do all day? Whatever I want!”

There’s also the razor-sharp diva way of responding to this – “I pursue joy, darling; see if you can relate.”

But a lot of folks are genuinely curious about what an unstructured day looks like, so mixing sass with a bit of gentle education is helpful. The transition out of a task-oriented 9 to 5, with its attendant social structures, can be daunting. Many seniors I know talk about that “first day of school” feeling. And they’re doing it without a curriculum. Be that wise, if sassy, alum leading the way.

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Send questions to R. Eric Thomas at [email protected] or P.O. Box 22474, Philadelphia, PA 19110. Follow him on Instagram and sign up for his weekly newsletter at rericthomas.com.