One Year of Blogging - Now 12 Months ('til Launch) Isn't Really That Long.....
I am an admitted instant-gratification-gal, so when I wrote "27 months isn't really that long....it just seems like it" on my first blog post, it truly felt like forever.
Since then we moved our launch date from August to June (in case you thought I'm even worse at math than I am), and Bill's retirement date from June 1 to April 1. We played with earlier dates, but family and finances dictate our reality so I think those are final.
A year has passed and, of course, in hindsight it flew by. Christmas seems mere weeks ago. It has been 12 months since we had our marriage celebration. Bill's new knees are six months old. The 40th Reunion is behind us. In just a couple weeks Richie will be a Senior.
Are we where we hoped to be after a year? Yes and no.
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| More yes than no |
Yes:
Bill's double knee replacement exceeded our expectations in both recovery and final results.
Together lost 150 pounds.
Bought the recumbent trikes.
Sold the Seadoos.
Sold the second vehicle.
Bought the Jeep.
Spent more time with family and friends.
Purged lots of stuff, made some money doing it.
Narrowed down our rig choice to three.
Painted the laundry room
Removed the ugly trees from the front.
Limited purchases (and gifts received) to only items that will go in the RV.
Paid off one credit card.
Made good investment choices.
Have a potential buyer for the house.
Educated ourselves on insurance(s), domicile, extended warranties, club memberships, solar, trip routing, coach specifications, and lots more.
Connected to the RV network (so huge).
No:
Improve overall fitness (other than the initial weight loss).
Be debt-free by the end of 2014 (huge tax bill, repairs to the boat trailer, un-scheduled travels, broken sprinkler pipes, non-winning lottery tickets).
I'm happy with our progress.
Financial challenges happen no matter what your lifestyle. The lessons we learn over the next twelve months that get us to our final goal will be valuable ones to take with us.
The fitness goals are easier. Just get off our asses. Something else valuable to take along!
As this anniversary-of-sorts comes round next year we will only have weeks left. Now THAT really won't be that long.......
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| We will be so close! |
Life is full of planning and hoping. It's full of surprises -- both good and bad. It's also full of fun times. I hope there are many in your future. You've sure taken care of a lot in the "short" time since you started this.
ReplyDeleteI know when we look back that these months of planning will be good memories. Still we're looking forward to looking back :-).
DeleteYou are getting so close to your dream. Seems like you are working hard to be prepared:)
ReplyDeleteYes we are! Hard work and a little luck (maybe some good karma) and we're pretty happy with where we are today :-).
DeleteIn our world, fulltiming was always years away. Now it's three months away! Time really doesn't stand still, but sometimes it feels like it. When I look back on all that we have done to prepare, it's kind of amazing. Today, I am starting to pack up our kitchen and family room, getting it all cleaned up. We are still hosting family in June for our two high school seniors graduation, and after that, it's all about estate sale, painting, cleaning, selling the house, moving the kids and hitting the road! Whew!
ReplyDeleteSounds wonderful to be that close!! Just think of all the stuff you can send home with family next month :-). Hope you have a first-stop picked out where you can just chill for several days - - you'll need it!
DeleteAfter the house goes on the market, we'll move into Scoopy in July. We have reservations in Bellingham for two weeks before we actually leave for good. We will help Zoe and Zac move into their new place and be nearby as we prepare to leave Aug. 15. Our first "real" fulltiming stop will be Salt Creek Recreation Area just west of Port Angeles. We'll be settled on the cliffs overlooking the Straight of Juan de Fuca for four days!
DeleteYour yes list is way longer than your no list. I'd say you are doing extremely well! It will all be history soon and in a few years you'll look back and hardly remember it. Well that's only if your memory is like mine. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid it is :-). It's the real reason we blog, right? So WE can go back and read what the heck we did last year (month)! It did feel good to see that longer Yes list.
DeleteIn five weeks, if I am counting right, we will celebrate our second year of full timing. Time has gone quickly. At first, because of John's health, I wondered if we could even make 2 years. It has been two steps forward and one back, but we are eager to start our third year! In a flash, you will be starting your third.
ReplyDeleteYours is such a great testimony to the importance of living your dream until you can't. I've known others who threw in the towel because of "maybe" and look back with so much regret that they didn't stay the course. You two continue to inspire :-).
DeleteThanks Annie and welcome aboard!
ReplyDelete