Let's use this word instead of "retirement."

I hate the word "retirement" and have never had occasion to use it until I decided - in mid-sentence while speaking to my office's HR person about returning to work after a long bout of IBS - to retire. Then, once retired, I noticed a feeling of embarrassment whenever I used the word to explain what I am doing now. Embarrassment does not come easy to me because I have what I call the "clown" gene. I don't really know why I use the word "clown" but intuitively it seems like the best word to describe my way of communicating with a voice that is much too loud, a face that says way too much, a demeanor that is way too dramatic and the mind of a contrarian. But I digress on why I use "clown" when I want to talk about why I hate the word "retirement."

Besides this uneasy feeling of embarrassment, there are all these pat annoying questions people ask when you tell them you're retired like, "What are you doing now?" or "Aren't you tired of doing nothing?" which I want to forego answering or would be delighted to answer if the question was framed correctly. So, the new word I have created to describe this period of my life and provide the right prompt for subsequent conversation is "repowerment".

Our friend Merriam-Webster defines "repower" as "to provide again or anew with power" ... especially : to provide (something, such as a boat) with a new engine." My research suggests the etymology of the suffix "-ment" is much debated but I am going to go with Merriam-Webster again: "a suffix of nouns, often concrete, denoting an action or resulting state ( abridgment; refreshment ), a product ( fragment ), or means (ornament ). Thus, "repowerment" is the state of being "repowered" which is exactly what I feel like now after 30 years of fighting the good fight for the "huddled masses yearning to breathe free."

Throughout my life I have been powered by my passion to fight injustice especially for the voiceless, and have had the good fortune to be paid for the work. However, inexorable change in the world and in me caused me to move along, although I was not clear where the move would take me. Now I know the very act of leaving the familiar is repowering and every day presents a new set of possibilities whether it be fighting the good fight or just waking up and spending time with your loved one and of course, your dogs. I love "repowerment" both figuratively and literally. What do you think?