We’re taking off on this adventure and I figured if you have the gumption to READ about life, I might as well tell you how I got here.
I’m mid forties and just left an amazing position in middle management running a small CT and X-Ray/Specials department for a highly successful imaging center. From the sidelines most will (and have) said that I’m crazy to leave such an excellent position behind. I really can’t argue with that, it was/is an amazing place to work.
But here’s the beef. To drive hard in a 24/7 position requires nearly 24/7 attention. It’s a matter of choice at this point. I can choose to do work but then I choose to not do the other things in life. The pendulum may swing from side to side on this topic through this blog. I do miss the daily challenges of work, but I don’t miss the daily interruptions that work provided in my life. It’s truly an odd dynamic and I’m sure someone can relate to what I’m trying to convey here. If you can, drop me a hint in the comments about how you manage your 24/7 position while still “keeping up” with all those other things you adore.
And just one more thought about the pandemic…. It was hard. I won’t say it was hard for me, I thrived on complex system based approaches to problems. What was hard was the unknown. The unknowable. The burden placed on ALL middle management everywhere that was faced with trying to come up with a game plan for the daily operations while having NO idea what each day would bring. Multiply this by 2 for our house, and add a child. There were many of times, especially early in the pandemic where we were faced with leaving our home to solve the problems of work, which meant the child had to fend for himself. While it may have only been for a few hours a day, it was the never ending days at home he spent, largely alone, largely on a computer, and always indoors that made the pandemic especially difficult for me (us). I could opine on this for a while, but I wont. We’re moving on.
You can afford anything….But not everything. What’s it gonna be?
Paula Pant, Afford Anything
I’ve read and listened to all the internet, YouTube, and Podcast sages. I’ve followed the F.I.R.E. movement for years. (If you’re not sure what that means, hit my friends up at ChooseFI) I may have even been F.I.R.E. in the 1990s before it was a “thing”. What I’ve really come to learn is that it’s human nature to always want more, but when is enough, enough? What does it mean to make a choice? If you make that choice, what are you saying “no” too? These and many other question plagued me for years. Rather than debate and spreadsheet any longer about these topics, I’ve slowly moved away from the computer and towards the real life things to help answer these question.
So, we must be FIRE if we’ve quit our jobs and RV’ed up to head to Alaska. IDK. Maybe we are. I don’t really care for the “retire” name. I’m clearly not going to sit around and do nothing. I’m sure one day I’ll stop all this goofing around and enjoying all those years of hard work and “get a job”. I don’t have any idea what that will be, but I’m sure it will be something at least a little interesting or new (to me).
I’ve put in years of effort to get to this point in life. I can’t say it’s a BIG STEPPING OFF point, because I really haven’t felt a major shift. I think because I’ve put in years of thought and effort to get here, I’m simply ready for the next part. My biggest worry is making the most of each day. We don’t have a super perfect plan here. I only have building blocks of ideas and a direction. The 3 of us, truck, trailer, and a handful of maps.
What about you? Have you even thrown caution to the wind even for a weekend just to see where it takes you? Ever just grab the Visa, the backpack, the car, and head off in a direction to see what happens? How about just a plane ticket to a place but with NO reservations when you get there? I’d love to hear about it and how it turned out!
If you’ve made it this far, THANKS! A word of caution though. I’m not a professional blogger. I’m not even employed. If you’ve come for great writing, you may need to just find a new place to read. I’m just here to hammer out some adventures on the keyboard and hopefully inspire someone else to try something new in life…to make the choices they never thought they could make.
