.......it just seems like it today. Today being the first day of capturing our pre-journey-journey on "paper". After dreaming and imagining - and buying that non-winning Powerball ticket - Bill and I have committed to living on the road full-time before the end of Summer 2015. This includes living a focused life for the next two years: enjoying life at home while spending as much time as possible with family and friends, improving the resale value of the property, paying off those final couple of bills, adding to our savings, getting healthy and fit, selling the house, purchasing a motorhome, Bill retiring, and taking all necessary steps to realize our goal. When we look at being successful in all of these areas, 27 months seems about right! Some of it will be really fun - like working on the house and buying that motorhome. Some of it - like getting in shape and selling the house - maybe not so much. But I am confident that all of it, fun and not, will be worth it when we hit the road.
This blog will track our efforts, successes and set-backs, and perhaps even be useful to other couples who have similar plans in the future. There are already several great full- timer blogs out there that I follow enviously every week. They motivate me to work on the dream, to know that it is very do-able for us, and to document our own journey-to-get-to-the-journey.
In July of last year I decided to make December 31, 2012, my last day of work. There were several factors that led to that decision, some were economic, some were familial, and all told me it was time to be done with the job. After 26 years with the same organization it was a significant life change. Bill was comfortable with my early retirement and even figured he could tolerate having me home every day! Once the decision was made, I thought those six months would drag by. Instead they were gone in that well-known flash! There were several steps to take for retirement and I was glad I had more than a couple months . Other important dates and events during that time were a blur, and boom! it was Christmas, my office was packed up, and everything was ready for my replacement.
Not once have I regretted early retirement. I don't miss the work, the travel or "being part of something big and important". I can meet all of my financial obligations. I am never bored and wonder daily at how others struggle keeping busy in retirement! I enjoy every day and love the freedom of no schedule. For all of these reasons I am confident that I made the right decision.
That confidence is part of my foundation for this next big life change. The other part is Bill's enthusiasm for the whole idea. Together we will do what it takes while we celebrate the easy steps and survive the challenges. Sharing this adventure with him makes it even more exciting. We will also be sharing the road with our fluffy dog Tessa but she won't have much to contribute during the preparation period. Still, I'm sure she will show up in these pages over the next two years.
And so we begin.......
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