When I was in my 20 & 30s, a LONG time ago, nobody thought I "worked" because I was at home typing freelance articles (which were often on the front page of the paper, but never mind.) So I was forever elected to head the paper drive or chaperone the field trip. "Folks!" I proclaimed ever more loudly, "I WORK!" All these decades later I still do, even if I so love writing that it's more like play; I do not ever plan to "retire."