FIRE: Financial Independent Retire Early
At 52 years of age, we got here later than some, but probably earlier than most. Four years ago, I was soul searching about my C suite job…contemplating the idea of keeping this gig going for another 10-15 years. Was I that ambitous? Did I want to give most of my high energy years to someone else? And John and I started reflecting. What was “our number”? How much money did we need to live on? When would the nest egg and our desires align? Our four daughters were grown, and our parents were all healthy….so we had the ability to make and take some options. And here we are….
John and I (mostly John) worked tirelessly to build our real estate portfolio. Growing it, pruning it, nourishing it to the point it could sustain us. And substantial enough for us to be able to have a crew we trust to help us keep balanced in the time we allocate to it daily. Providing the ability to travel and live anywhere. And we socked away 10% of my income every month from my first job until the moment I walk out the door at my recent employer – 35 years later. I gave advanced notice to retire in February 2021, working part time from now until then. And now we take the next 50 years to enjoy what life has in store for us together and individually.
Reflection
I began evaluating what brings me joy, and what can I learn about myself. First and foremost, I love my family more than anything in the world. We have raised 4 beautiful children who are now in their 20s. Our daughters are so unique in their own way….creative, artistic, compassionate, giving, smart, and beautiful inside and out. Every day I get to spend with them is pure joy. And I want to keep doing it more and more. It’s so beautiful to watch them grow into adults, and I am so glad we are able to help them as much as we can.
Then I migrated to Yoga Teacher Training. Learning about the 8 limbs of yoga, tons of introspection about the high frequency by body has run on for the last 30 years. Open doors to healing – reiki, sound therapy, chakra work, meditation and breathing, yoga poses, anatomy and how my body truly works, health coaching, etc. etc. etc. I have been teaching yoga in our neighborhood and with friends and my kids, and providing reiki to my children and their friends. And doors keep opening in the work I need to do to be a peaceful, energetic, grounded, intimate human.
I love dogs, but didn’t want to be tied down with the commitment, so we decided to foster service dogs through the Ability Center which has been an absolute joy.
I love to cook, and am incredibly passionate about vegan/health based cooking (I have been a veggie for 30+ years), so I have been exploring Plant Based Culinary school in NYC. John would take art classes at the same time.
I caught the travel bug early in my career, and it has stayed with me. We definitely want to tie a high travel stint into our future – domestically and internationally.
And the great outdoors cleans my soul.
Life Altering Events
After renting an RV (and with the onset of COVID), we made a decision October 2020 for our first retirement stint to live the VanLife. We put an order in for our tiny house on wheels, and were told it would be worth the wait – estimated time of delivery April 2021. During that time, life continued to happen, and COVID continued to be unpredictable. We did our best to stay optimistic and keep planning for our great adventure. April turned into May, May turned into June, and June turned into July.
On July 19, 2021 at 11:00 pm, while we were watching television, Johns heart stopped. Literally stopped. He endured over 1.5 hours of CPR – first by me, then by the paramedics, then by the hospital ER. He was eventually brought back to life by 12:30 am on July 20th. This event was followed by 30 days in two hospitals where he recovered from the cardiac incident, fractured ribs, a collapsed lung, and a stroke just to name a few. I contemplated many times during that month what our future would be like. What type of recovery he would make. And was I being unrealistic by holding on to our retirement dreams.
John came home from the hospital late August, and ironically we got the call the van was finally ready for us to pick up THE DAY he was discharged.
There were months of recovery, hospital follow ups, and doctor appointments. Heck, there continue to be many doctor appointments. The root cause was never conclusively identified, but we have insurance policies in the form of heart medications and a defibrillator. And, we continue to investigate what caused the sudden cardiac arrest. He has most of his strength back, most of his energy back, and his vitals are strong.
We made the decision to follow through on our dream and picked up our RV in late September. We have taken a few small trips to go leaf peeping in Michigan, and then also in The Great Smokey Mountains, to get us ready for the big voyage.
The Plan
Our plan is to visit all the US National Parks. We have it mapped out, and we are almost ready to embark on our journey. Given the fact we live in Ohio, we will start our journey in the Southwest and follow the weather. Now, when I plan a leg of our trip, we take into consideration where the closet and best hospital is. And with hiking, we take into consideration elevation change. We are up to a 1,200 ft elevation gain and a record of 37,000 steps in one day.
Life is too too short. And we can’t take a single day for granted. The last year has taught me that. It has also taught me to let go, take one day at a time, and be grateful each day for what I have.
So, if you are interest in following our journey, this is where it will be documented.
And, if you are interested in learning more about John’s health journey, here is a link to his CaringBridge.
https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/johnhowardupdates
“Today is the right day to love, believe, do, and mostly live.” Dalai Lama.
These words ring true for me, and I am committed to live my life to the fullest.
Adventuring
With Gratitude
One Day at a Time
