Tana’s Story
I am forty something years old. I have worked very hard since my daughter was 2 years old. She is now 26 and has a beautiful 5 year old daughter of her own. Where did the time go? How did this happen? So focused on career and success, that I thought would bring me financial security, that I didn’t realize what I had been missing. It took the shock of an economic crisis for me to really open my eyes and see the big picture. It became painfully clear that I would lose my house in Orange County, which had I had put a very large down payment on and was now only worth half of what I paid for it. This house and my 401K, which had also plummeted is what I was banking on for retirement. The reality of my situation, which is not unlike so many others, began to sink in. “Retirement”, as our we have known it, is a fairytale in our current times. I will probably be working the rest of my life. OK, so I guess I better just accept it.
So what now?? I decided it was time to take a break to regroup, to re-evaluate and reconnect with the ones I’ve missed in the last 20 years. I felt this urgent need to experience those things I’ve been saving up to do in “Retirement”, before I’m too old and decrepit to enjoy them. Unfortunately, the company I worked for informed me there is no such thing as an “Advanced Retirement” policy, so I quit my awesome, good paying job, hoping that I had served them well enough over the years that I might be able to beg for a job back if necessary.
Mike, my best friend and partner, was asking himself some very similar questions (see Mike’s story). We decided to pool our resources in hopes of taking at least six months off to really enjoy life. I am not sure if we will look back on this time say “WOW, that was the (dumbest) or (smartest) thing we ever did!” But I am certain it will be the Adventure of a Lifetime for me. We created this blog as a way to document and share our experience. Hopefully you will enjoy reading it as much as we are enjoying writing it.
Life is good.
