Just a month before celebrating a milestone birthday, Al Roker is talking turning 70 and retirement.
It’s no secret that being the go-to guy for the weather on the Today Show is a “dream job” for Roker. But as he prepares to celebrate his 70th birthday on August 20, he reveals what this birthday means to him in an interview with Parade.
“Listen, my dad [Albert Sr.] passed away about four months shy of his 70th birthday,” Roker explained. “So 70 has a very special meaning to me.”
However, despite the meaning behind turning 70, he admits he’s “going to celebrate it somewhat reluctantly. My wife has already told me to just give in to it.”
“But it’s a change,” Roker continued. “You know when you’re 50, you think, Oh, my life is halfway over. When you’re 70, it’s more than half over. But that doesn’t keep you from enjoying it and being able to appreciate the things you get to do.”
And as he prepares for his 70th birthday, Parade also asked Roker about his potential retirement. It was a question he didn’t have to think to hard about.
“I love my job and I enjoy it,” the famous weatherman said. “They will have to drag me out of here screaming and kicking.”
It’s an answer that leaves fans of the meteorologist breathing a sigh of relief.
Roker’s retirement remarks come a day after he celebrated his youngest child, Nick’s, birthday.
Alongside photos of Nick over the years, the proud father wrote, that it “seems like just yesterday this beautiful boy came into our lives but #justlikethat Nick is 22 years old. #happybirthday my young man.”