Chapters of our lives…

Tags

aging, bucket list, change, chapters, dreams, hobbies, life, planning, retitrement

Do you ever stop and think about how our lives are simply a whole lot of chapters put together in what we view as a whole life?  Our whole life is a series of lots of little chapters, some only last a little while, others are quite long and winding, and you would be very lucky if you missed the few in our lifetime which are so terribly painful we never want to experience that darkness again, yet others are so inspiring and beautifully written we wish that chapter could go on for ever…these moments, events, phases and seasons are the chapters of our lives playing out before our eyes even if at times we forget that we, in any given moment can rewrite them or merely stop one chapter and begin a new one…

My husband has decided to hang up his work hat towards the end of this year which means another chapter in our life is coming to an end and a new one beginning.  The countdown has definitely begun and he only has 143 days until his new life of not having to go to work begins. This new chapter will see us go back to living on one income and learning  to adapt to a life of semi-retirement.  It may take a little adjusting but we are used to adjusting our sails when we need to. Its what we moved down here for and have been preparing towards for the last four years.

With our adult children now left, we are happily concentrating on us and our empty nest life which we are both finding very relaxing and suits us both pottering around, doing our own thing making no demands on each other and discovering how lovely and peaceful life can be. This next particular chapter is all about finding what we like to do together and separately and just enjoy life doing it.  With my hubby finishing work at the end of this year, he will discover new things to do, begin little projects and I am sure he will keep himself busy and not get bored.

I am pretty busy myself at the moment planning the most amazing holiday of a lifetime for us to take this time next year.  We are cruising to Hawaii, then flying to San Francisco and slowly making our way across to the east side of the USA and finishing in NYC.  Once this is done, flying to London then staying in France for 10 days which ticks off many of our bucket list items and we have found a way to do this together finally.  I am beyond excited about taking this trip with my husband and am thoroughly enjoying planning each segment of it, dreaming, refining, and researching it all in my spare time.  This trip is something I have always wanted to do together and until recently never looked like it would happen, but the universe worked out a way and all of a sudden we had the means, the funds and the time perfectly aligned for us to take our wonderful trip, a trip I am sure we will talk about well into our old age…

I already know,

this next chapter

is looking

just fine…