Name: Rebecca
Age at interview: 65
Gender: Female
Rebecca is a retired child carer who lives in Melbourne with her husband. She is 65 years old and comes from Greece. She has two adult children.
More about Rebecca
Rebecca does not really think about 'being old' because she feels young at heart. However, her life changed when her children moved out of home a few years ago and she retired. Rebecca loved being with children as part of her job, but she felt that the increasing paperwork was taking away from time with the children and that it was too restrictive on her home (Rebecca was a family daycare worker). Suddenly the house was quiet and she needed to find things to fill her time. Retirement meant that she and her husband were able to make new plans for their lives. They travel to Europe every two years and spend ample time in Greece, catching up with friends and family and seeing the country. When they are at home in Melbourne, Rebecca spends a lot of time gardening and reading. Rebecca and her husband have a good relationship and they do a lot of things together. They go to the gym five days a week and catch up with friends often. They also see their children, with whom they are very close, at least twice a week.
Rebecca enjoys excellent health, which she attributes to the exercise she has always done and the healthy Mediterranean foods that she enjoys preparing from scratch, with nothing processed. She has not noticed any change in her memory or her capacity to do things; she feels much as she did when she was a teenager. Rebecca has not thought about other forms of housing, as she and her husband intend to continue living in the family home for many years to come. They worked hard while they could and were careful with their money, so they are comfortable and have no financial problems. She has, however, thought about what she would like to happen after she dies and she has discussed it with her family. Rebecca plans to donate her body to science for medical students to learn from in their training.
Rebecca believes it is important to think positively in order to grow older successfully. She feels extremely lucky to be living the life that she has.