Finally!—A yellow-throated thrush has found your bird feeder! Outfitted with hummingbird bottles, a migratory bird-specific seed tray, and an HD hidden camera, you would think that your yard would be the main hub for the neighborhood bird population, but this particular thrush has evaded you for weeks. You once felt silly for spending $200 on a bird feeder that doubles as a spy cam, but your inner qualms are silenced when that little yellow bird delicately lands at your windowsill.
Hypnotized by its lightning-fast, yet graceful movement, you realize with a heaving sigh that this victorious moment highlights the best part of your week. And—there’s no denying it anymore—despite barely rounding the corner of your quarter-life crisis, you’ve inexplicably become a full-time bird watcher like your Grandma was. Your new hobby has consumed you, bringing you an inner peace you’ve never known.
Birdwatching, crocheting, painting by number, and tending a vegetable garden all sound like courses in the senior living facility’s activity catalog. But these geriatric-leaning hobbies are no longer gatekept by the elderly, but they’re taking on a new life—and a new meaning—to younger generations who dream of the retirement years that may never come.
