I’m 93 and am not ready to quit my job. I’m not rich but I’m comfortable and fulfilled.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Fay Pacchioli, 93, who works as a bookkeeper for the business she founded over 50 years ago. Pacchioli, who lives in Pennsylvania, said she doesn’t have much saved, and her husband died six years ago. Still, she loves working and maintains a lively social life. Her words have been edited for length and clarity.

I’m not ready to quit my job yet. I keep seeing in the paper that there are people who are over 100, and I’m not sure if I’m going to make that, but I feel good.

I’m not wealthy. I get completely knocked over when I read how much money people have.

I have enough money to live comfortably. I have money saved to pay for my funeral and other expenses, and I have some money designated for each of my children and grandchildren. Still, I don’t have a lot.

I grew up during the Great Depression. My family was very poor. My father was sick when I was born and did not work. My mother had four children. By the time I got to 10th grade, I got a job, and it was the first time I really had any money of my own.

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I had a few jobs before creating my business. I worked for a book company and edited their magazines from high school-age, until I got a job at a radio station. I loved the radio station job, and then I got a job with a newspaper.

During this time, I got really into dog showing at tournaments and dog shows.

‘Retiring’ but working part-time

I started selling grooming equipment out of my car, as well as dog food. At the time, I taught people how to handle dogs, and I started ordering equipment for them.

Eventually, I opened a store selling pet supplies and doing dog grooming, and that has gone on for over 50 years. It’s called Sandy King’s, and it’s still in business. I also went to business school so I could keep up with the changing paperwork.

We sold our house and bought the building we are in now for the business. The living quarters were on the upper level. We had to build the store entrance, which we attached to a back porch and put in our staircase down to the store facilities. Then we progressed to turn a recreation room into a retail store.

We were open for about four months when my first salesman came to visit. He told me I would never make it in the back of the building, with a narrow stairway going down. It did make me think a bit, so about a year later, when we recovered from some of the initial expenses, we put up a huge lighted sign. Since we are on a main street, that did the trick.

I sold the business in 2016, and I was 85 then. Still, I never stopped doing the books. My daughter bought the business, and she runs it. She has her own employees, and she does whatever she wants now. I help out when they need it.

Crafting a healthy work-life balance

My mother became handicapped at 82 and died at 86. She hated television, and she used to go to the library every few weeks, get a stack of books, and read all the time. I knew when I got older, I had to have something that I was going to do to keep myself active.

This work definitely got me up in the morning because we opened at 9 a.m. I was still dog showing in my 80s, so it kept me active in my profession.

I think retirement is wonderful because I don’t have to work any day when I don’t want to work. I set my own hours, and if I get my paperwork caught up, I can be off for days in a row. I would probably say I work a few hours a day, but sometimes, if I skip a day, then I might be doing six hours the next day. I’m a night person, so I often work until midnight or 1 a.m., then sleep late in the morning.

If I weren’t working, I don’t know what I would do with myself. When it was a holiday weekend and we were closed Friday through Sunday, I caught up on my work by Saturday, and I was bored the rest of the time. I watch a lot of TV when I’m bored, and I know that’s not good for me.

In my spare time, I go to therapy and I take care of my dog. She requires a lot of attention. She’s very spoiled. I do a little cleaning up around the house, as I live alone, although I have a housekeeper who comes in once a month.

It’s so important to keep yourself active. I go out a lot. I went to my class reunion. We’re all 93 or 94, and we still have one. We meet once a month in addition to our yearly reunion. I only go out to dinner once in a while. I also play bridge, getting up and going between tables. It’s keeping my mind and body busy.

I was married once, and my husband died six years ago. I have three children, who are all wonderful to me. They all come if I need help. I had a minor TIA (transient ischemic attack) in August, and I wasn’t allowed to drive for a while, so they would run all of my errands for me. I hope to drive again very shortly.

I have a summer home at the lake, so in the summer from Memorial Day until Labor Day, I go to the lake. It’s a lot more walking than where I live now.

Stay active. If you have to volunteer at the hospital as a helper, whatever you have to do, do it. It will keep you on your feet.

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