Life is What Happens When You are Making Other Plans

What happened to the life I thought I would be living by now? It's really amazing how differently real life turns out. If we had stayed in Rison, I would probably not be working outside of the home at this point. I never really wanted to be a career woman. I remember when I was very young, that my major goal in life was to have a home and family. I didn't really have a driving need to be anything other than a Mom and wife. Oh, at times I thought I wanted to be a teacher, or a hair dresser, or at one time a commercial artist, but for the most part, just a stay-at-home Mom. While the kids were small, I was able to do that, eventhough the money was very tight. I remember while we were going through that, I kept thinking I needed to get out and make some money. I began working part time here and there, and it went downhill from there. You get used to having more money, then you are stuck having to make it. When the kids began growing older and college loomed in the not too distant future, full time was required to help fund that. And I can remember after the first year or two, I wanted nothing more than to just go to the house and stay there. But, I kept my eye on the prize. I saw retirement in my mind as soon as the kids graduated college and started their own adult lives.

Moving to Sheridan changed all that. You have to give up something to get something. In Rison we had no house payment and no vehicle payment. In Sheridan, we had to purchase a home. Then, (as we would eventually have had to do even in Rison) we had to purchase a new vehicle. Staying home was not an option. It takes money to pay for those things. But, if we had stayed in Rison, I would have been living in a house that needed major renovation, and I would have been pretty isolated, living in the woods. So, you win some, you lose some. Right?

Thing is, I am tired of working. So is SR. We really long for retirement. The long stressful days at work are taking their toll on us. We aren't as young as we used to be you know. I think though, that if we could be doing something we really loved....as an attorney who loves the law, a teacher who lives to lead our young, an artist whose joy is to create....AND get paid for it, it might not be so hard to roll out of bed every morning. And even then I think, if you weren't able to set your own hours, and do as you please, it still would be a burden.

Money isn't everything. And today I was thinking that if I knew I had to work until I was 65, I would just say "Let's just sell everything we own and find some little dinky place to live." So I could roll out of bed when I got good and ready and stay up till Midnight if I was of a mind to. And in between? I could do whatever the heck I wanted.....