After 40 plus years of being a practicing attorney, what does one go on to do in their retirement? That was a question that I found myself asking. After graduating Boston College Law School, I began my career at the National Labor Relations Board and I remained there until September 2017. After retiring, my wife’s patience was wearing thin with the amount of busy work I found myself getting into around the house. During that time, I was going to the Y once or twice a day, as I had been doing for years. Suddenly it dawned on me that since I spent a lot of time at the Y every day and enjoyed being there, working at the Y would be a great idea. I decided to put a resume into the Y after being a member since 2002.

I am from the Newton area, and I stayed here to help my aging mother. When my wife and I started our family, we knew that down the road we would have to get our kids involved with extracurriculars. Before my family ultimately became members, my son played soccer at the Y when he was very young, then he and my daughter took swim lessons at the West Suburban YMCA. They even had birthday parties here. It was after our children graduated and went off to college that we finally joined the Y. I have always been active, and so as a member I mostly used the Y for the fitness center. I was able to learn more about the countless opportunities that the Y provided but did not understand these programs’ greater impact. When I got the job offer to work at the Welcome Center, I really got to experience the impact of the Y.

I have gained the opportunity to continue building on the relationships I made here, and I also am able to reestablish relationships with old friends and colleagues. The Y, I have learned, is a place that has something for everyone. It is a place that focuses on maintaining your overall well-being, from physical health to social, emotional, and mental health. I did not realize it until I began working here but after I retired, I was getting lonely. Getting to join the team behind the front desk allows me a social outlet, and it is fun. I get to continue taking care of my 97-year-old mother and enjoy retirement. The Y helped me start this new chapter in my own life.