Why Wait?

Change is in the air. It is coming again. You know the feeling, don’t you?

We thought we would be here forever. This just goes to show that you never know what Life has in store. We shouldn’t be surprised. This is the longest we have ever been in one place. We are getting restless. This is an awesome life. But we know that there is more.

Who doesn’t like the idea of early retirement and financial independence? Jim wants to ‘retire’ by age 50. By retire we mean, not have to work for somebody else. We love being together and absolutely hate Monday mornings.

There has got to be something we can do, with what we know, that will allow us to live the life we want, now.

And so, the conversation has begun. Or evolved, rather. Why wait? If the life that we want is something that we can achieve right now, can you think of any good reason why we shouldn’t just do it sooner? I can’t.

Everything seems to be coming together in that way – pointing towards time to move on. This season is coming to an end and another is beginning. Which makes sense. We are at that place in life, and marriage, that it is time to reassess. What are we doing with our lives, and is it what we want to be doing?

We just celebrated our twenty-first wedding anniversary. That was huge, but last year was monumental. Twenty years. 20! That was definitely a year of reflection for both of us. We celebrated. All. Year. Long. It was awesome. So, that was big. That was also the year our oldest child finished high school and left home. Talk about something to throw you for a loop. That was the day we came up with our best beer recipe yet – our ‘Boo-hoo Bitter – Rainy Day IPA’. The day we took our oldest to the airport {also mother’s day, yeah, seriously} we went back to our kitchen, cried on each other’s shoulders and produced a labor of love that I am not sure will ever be able to be repeated. Yum. Okay, back on track. Our youngest is now starting his junior year in high school. Two more years and this one will fly the coop too, or at least not need us around as much.

That puts us right where we figured we would be twenty years ago. Barely turning forty, and ready to be kids again. {Did we ever really stop?} We knew that first year of marriage when we unexpectedly found ourselves expecting our first little mini-me, that we were going to have to put our DINK plan {double income no kids} on hold for a little while. But that if we had our kids early, we would get done early, and we would still be young enough to get out there and live life!

We never did stop living life. The kids are growing up and are becoming more like friends than children. It’s awesome. They have turned out to be really cool people that we love hanging out with. We have been a tight family. So many adventures together. No, we didn’t stop living life. We just took the kids along for the ride. And I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. At Home On the Go means so many different things.  The life we have lived, the life that still lies ahead.

Our values have changed a little. DINK is no longer the goal, but just soaking up the life that we want together.

Jim and I were just saying this morning, as we were lying in bed enjoying our second leisurely cup of killer French press, we know change is coming. We feel it all around us. But neither of us really knows what is next. We have a lot of options. We have a lot to look into. There are a lot of conversations to be had, rabbit trails to explore, as the future begins to take shape. Family. Work. Our home here that we have been pouring our blood, sweat, and tears into for the past four years {the longest our family has ever lived in one place.} But what is next? This is not unfamiliar territory for us – the cusp of adventure. That doesn’t make it any less scary. Very curious to see what life will look like for us in just a couple years. Probably nothing like I think it will.

Follow by email, and come along for the journey!

Showing 3 comments
  • MrFireStation
    Reply

    I can relate to your situation very much. Next year we turn 50 and our son leaves for college. We’re getting ahead of it by retiring early (and well-off) and donating our last year’s salary to charity. It’s the only reason I’m going to work & will be fun to give away!

    • Tania
      Reply

      That sounds like an awesome plan! Will you be doing much travel? We have been looking into volunteering abroad as a good reason to go/find interesting places. There are some good projects out there if you know what to look for.
      PS- Thanks for reading, and thanks for commenting… You are officially our first!

      • MrFireStation
        Reply

        Yes, TRAVEL! We travel about 3 weeks a year now and plan to bump it up to 5-6 in early retirement.

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Book Review 4 Hour Work Week Tim Ferris