Learning guitar chords at 71

Mahlon Jones held two steady careers before retiring, but that doesn't mean that he want to stop learning and trying new things, according to The Richmond Times-Dispatch. Now, he has time to learn guitar, finally achieving a life-long dream.

"My mother and father both played guitar. I grew up in the country, and they used to play music at night," Jones told the news provider. "If I could just strum a guitar, I would be happy."

Jones is emblematic of thousands of older adults across the country who are looking to pick up new skills and hobbies during their retirement. This is also the case of Kathryn Reid, a retired public school art teacher who recently found her calling when she began taking workshops that teach her how to create stained and fused glassware.

"I need to do it,"  she told the news provider. "It makes me feel better. Coming here energizes me."

Clubs and classes are at the core of Del Webb retirement communities such as Del Webb Orlando, where you can learn a new skill like carpentry or flex your creative muscles with painting classes.