Starting my Next Life Adventure.

I turned in my work laptop and badge on Friday. It’s now Wednesday and I have made To Do lists and checked off boxes. I went to visit my favorite Fall festive with Covered Bridges in the cold wind and noticed that each year after sitting at a laptop all day my joints are unhappy with the uneven ground and in the cold temperatures of October. A planned trip to South Dakota fell through and another was scheduled for Tennesse. I watch friends travel Europe on social media and wonder how much yoga and stretching and walking I will need to do to prepare for a trip like that. Years ago I could hike 10 miles in less than a day, in those Tennessee mountains, my hubby calls hills compared to his western favorites.

My go to in the mornings is prayer and quiet time with scripture writing. Then choices of walking, breakfast, healthy or unhealthy. Medicare shopping and Cobra planning with dental and vision coverage for a time was today’s task. The dreaded B word is in the vocabulary again “Budget” after years of being comfortable, now careful. Planning and yet freedom because we did actually plan pretty well and saved for retirement.

The sound of the High School marching band practicing next door and hammering and drilling for a replacement deck on our condo are the sounds I hear this week. Yes we downsized from four bedrooms to two, and no more mowing, but realized we should have looked for a one level. Our next family challenge is to downsize a fourth home. My parents, his, mine, and now his mother’s home to once again sell, clean and give away the things our kids don’t need or want. I have learned the location of at least ten Goodwill stores to donate to over the past eight years. So many choices.