🐔 Why Are Retirees So Obsessed with Sourdough, Gardening, and Chickens?

A Soft Reflection on Time, Peace, and the Unexpected Joys of Slowness

After decades of alarms, meetings, deadlines, and responsibilities, something curious happens when we finally step off the treadmill:
We pause.
We exhale.
We look around… and start thinking very seriously about starter dough.

Time off — especially the kind that comes with retirement — invites reflection. It’s like waking up in a quiet house after years of background noise. At first, the silence feels strange. Then it becomes sacred.

And in that stillness, a surprising craving bubbles up.
Not for action or output.
But for… simple things.

Bread.
Seeds.
Feathered friends that cluck and wander and don’t expect you to join Zoom.

---

The Great Retiree Plot Twist: From Boardrooms to Backyard Chickens

You may have noticed this shift. Maybe you’re feeling it too.

Suddenly, people who once ran teams and managed schedules are:

• Watching sourdough rise like it’s a TED Talk.
• Naming their tomato plants.
• Talking about “the girls” in the coop like they’re coworkers on break.

Is it a little funny? Yes.
Is it also incredibly profound? Also yes.

Here’s why we think retirees are being pulled toward gardening, baking, and backyard livestock:

---

🌱 1. It’s Grounding (Literally)

Gardening puts your hands in the earth and your mind in the moment.
After years of screens, speed, and synthetic everything, we crave the real. Dirt under our nails. Sunshine on our necks. The satisfaction of a sprout.

---

🍞 2. It’s Slow — and That Feels Right

Sourdough doesn’t care about your calendar.
It rises when it rises.
It teaches patience, presence, and pleasure in process — things retirement finally gives us space to enjoy.

Plus, feeding a starter is weirdly emotional. Don’t ask me why.

---

🐓 3. Chickens Are Surprisingly Therapeutic

Yes, chickens.
They’re quirky, busy, and oddly calming. Watching them peck around is the equivalent of nature’s white noise machine.
Plus, eggs. Beautiful, pastel, free-range eggs.

It’s like having a low-stakes hobby that produces breakfast.

---

💚 4. These Hobbies Reclaim Time as a Gift

In the workforce, time was always managed, budgeted, or fought against.
Now? Time can stretch. Breathe. Bloom.

These peaceful rituals aren’t just pastimes — they’re personal ceremonies. They whisper, “You’ve earned this.”

---

So No, You’re Not Losing It

If you’ve felt the mysterious urge to:

• Compost like it’s your new religion
• Start an herb garden in your kitchen
• Learn how to make bone broth
• Buy chickens and name them after old coworkers…

You are not alone.
You’re just in your next beautiful, slower chapter.

---

Final Thought

Whether or not you bake the bread, plant the seeds, or raise the hens, the message is the same:

You get to live gently now.
You get to love your days without a deadline.
You get to trade pressure for presence.

So if the sourdough calls… answer it.

It’s probably delicious.