The point of vacation is to get away and relax. The other point is to live in la-la land for a week and pretend you don’t have to go back to work.
Or at least that is how it is for me.
Right now I’m (mostly) enjoying a week with some family members at a beach cottage in Florida. I'll get back to the "mostly" thing in a moment.
We are from Minnesota, where winter is a six-month ordeal from November to April. We can't safely plant our gardens until mid-May. So it's wonderful to get away to the warm southern part of the country for at least a brief period in the winter time. I have not had to wear so much as a light sweater since we arrived three days ago!
I do daydream of retirement. It's still probably three or four years away, even though I qualify now. I have just not gotten all my "ducks in a row" yet, as they say. And I plan to live a very long time, so I don't want to plan for my funds to last until I'm 90 and then live to 105! The sobering idea of being a burden to my children prevents me from considering retirement until I'm pretty darn sure I'll be well set.
I'd like to be like these carefree water birds, just chillin' by the sea!
About that "Mostly" comment
"Into every life some rain must fall," as the saying goes.
We are visiting my husband's brother and brother's wife. These are two of our favorite people in the whole world. They rent a place near the beach in Florida every year, and we try to come visit them while they're here.
It's a great opportunity to get out of the cold for a bit and get some natural vitamin D!
Well, the trip did not start out as planned. My poor brother-in-law had a medical emergency right after we arrived and had to be transported to the hospital by ambulance. He had surgery the next day and is now recovering.
This was not exactly how we intended to spend our first day of vacation! But we were very glad to be here as support for my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. My husband rode with his brother in the ambulance and we have managed things at home while my sister-in-law has taken trips to the hospital.
Back to that retirement thing
If you're nearing that age, I think it's not uncommon to wonder, "What am I waiting for?" You could save all kinds of money and then have some life event or health crisis that prevents you from enjoying it.
I suppose it's all a balancing act. I'd like to be comfortable in retirement, but events like what has happened to my brother-in-law remind me that we just don't know what the future holds, and it's really important to live life each day, and not put off fun and enjoyment to some future time.
And so, I'm thanking the higher powers and medical science for the miracle of my relative's life and the great care he's getting, and taking amazing walks on the beach, and enjoying the sun and time with my hubby and two sisters-in-law. (My husband's sister is also here with us.)
In spite of the medical situation, we've had some lovely meals at outdoor cafes. Yesterday we had lunch at a restaurant that is actually located directly on the sand!
Thanks for visiting!
Photo credits: All of the photos in this post were taken by me and belong to me, unless otherwise noted.
My bio: I am a fiction writer and photographer based in Minnesota. I have had a lifelong love of fiction writing. I earned my MFA in writing from the University of New Hampshire. My short stories have appeared in a range of literary journals and anthologies, and my first short story collection is coming out in April 2024. You can pre-order here.
Want to know what I'm publishing and where? Visit my website, www.jaynalocke.com, or follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/@jaynatweets.
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i've been on a pretend vacation/retirement for 18 years :-)
i still work (when i want to and not for an employer), by choice and mostly for free.
i feel much gratitude to be able to do this.
Wishing good health for brother-in-law and all mankind.
Sat Nam
Atma
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Beautiful wide open spaces. As my mom remembers Florida, it was only cool in the malls and the alligators were scary. 😧 Haha! Please come and visit our beaches here in South Africa, you will be hooked. BTW, those birds chilling are the answer.
😍😍😍😍😍😍😀😀🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰😁😁😁😁😁
I would really love to come see you, @itsostylish. Maybe that will be my celebratory trip once I finally get to retire!
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oh my dear! What a terrible thing to happen to your brother in law on the first day of his holiday, it must have been very worrying for his wife, luckily you guys were there to help out and provide the much needed moral support. I hope your brother in law can still get out and about, and soak it some of the lovely Florida sunshine
I was saying to my sister just this week, that it's such a bummer we don't know when we're going to die. If I knew for sure that I'd live to say 75, then I could easily plan how much to splash out each year and not worry about not having enough money in my last few years. Enjoy the rest of your stay!
Thank you so much for your kind and supportive comment, @livinguktaiwan. Yes, you're exactly right — not knowing how much time we have on this earth makes it so hard to plan for how much money we need to have socked away!
Into each life some rain must fall, but too much is falling in mine...
Yes! That's it, @jacobtothe. What a wonderful, powerful and emotional ditty. And so much wisdom embedded in it.
Is it bad I know the song only because I play Fallout?
Right on the sand?
Is that restaurant level sanitary?😂😂😂
Although it does look fun and relaxing...
Sorry about your brother-in-law...
Which him a speedy recovery ✨
Oh, sand is quite sanitary, I think! It is constantly being bleached by the sun! 😂
That said, it all stays on the ground, and does not get into the food. But I pity the wait staff and cleaning crew. Somehow they have to deal with all the sand that is tracked into the restaurant!
We appreciate you taking the time, to either use #ThoughtfulDailyPost, or otherwise help this Community grow. So...
Thank you!!
Hugs, Wes and Grindan!
How lovely that you were able to escape to Florida, but I am so sorry to hear about your brother-in-law's emergency, thankfully you were there to help!
Florida looks beautiful!
Following the unexpected loss of my husband, I realized how we need to make the best of each day, which we did, so there are no regrets there.
Although we were (I still am) running a small bnb from home,we often would jump into the car on the spur of the moment, pick up friends, or go on our own for a jaunt along the coast, or inland.
You are so right about retiring too early, as I've seen some acquaintances who do that but have to downscale way too early, as their investments shrink.
Nowadays, people live longer, so going into full retirement even at the normal retirement age, and not having enough in the kitty, means you will outlive a decent income.
For us, and now me, having a bnb is like having the best of both worlds. I have many returning guests who have become like family, and it's a good income, I can still maintain my two excellent staff members.
My only concern is when I go that they will not easily find a good job, but I've told both of them that they need to seriously look at starting their own little company/ies - cleaning and gardening services. They each work 2 days per week elsewhere, for younger friends, and one of them wants to help them with that, as they will be emigrating in a couple of years.
We'll see what the future holds!
Shall I say it again, Florida looks heavenly, and your photos are stunning, enjoy it!
I love your story, @lizelle. You faced the life altering adversity of becoming a widow and losing your life partner, and kept moving and continued living life and being an entrepreneur. It can't have been easy. And as you said, it had to be quite a wake-up call too. But I'm so glad you have no regrets and only wonderful memories of the time you had with your husband.
And thank you for the "counterpoint" view regarding early retirement. Several of my friends who have retired in their mid-sixties are guilting me about it, which is ridiculous. We all have to make these decisions for ourselves. But the things you said really underscored why I'm not comfortable with it yet. I'm happy to work a few more years and get to a point where my nest egg is really in great shape, and that is the right course for me. (And of course meanwhile I'm working on some residual income projects!) So I'm not going to listen to them anymore!
You are so right @jayna, it's our life, so we have to do what works for us. Why retire simply because one has reached a certain age; some people are ready to retire in their 50s, others not.
I've also heard of way too many who die soon after retirement.
I worked for land surveyors for most of my life and because their job entails working outdoors, and doing much walking, many lived long lives and continued practicing way past the so-called 'retirement age'.
My last boss, before I joined our local council, still does calculations in his home office, at the age of 92, while his son and staff do the field work! Mr. H also was an avid golf player, which means a lot of walking.
He came to my hubby's memorial service and still is chirpy and full of life, truly a legend!
So, why stop doing something one enjoys, and still have the freedom to take breaks without seeing that kitty shrink?
But, we need to start walking, that's the big secret to a healthy life ;)
You do what is right for you!
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Good to hear your brother-in-law is on the road to recovery with family around I am sure he too was happy about timing of the visit, not the ill health simply people were together to care for each other.
Holiday itself turned into an unusual one with time enough to enjoy good company, beach lounging with a couple of meals out, till retirement never stop having fun times with family together.
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