October 28, 2022 at 12:00 am
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Using Time Wisely
October 28, 2022 at 3:02 pm
Steve, I do really appreciate your thoughts on use of our time wisely and add my encouragement to you all to do exactly that. My wife and I are in our 43rd year of our marriage, careers finished, and nearing our 80th birthdays. So far we both seem to have our wits about us, at least most of the time!
We have developed a routine that has worked for us very well. From our first days we have always kept a coffee maker close by and enjoy our coffee in bed first thing. Even when we were working we would make time after our days to sit together (outside with a nice fire when possible). Neighbors walking by know that when we are out there they are welcome to stop and sit a while, have a beer or glass of wine and some snacks, and we really enjoy their spending their time with us. Ethel often sends them on their way with a bag of her home-made cookies. Snacks and dining out with friends is one of our regular budget items.
Not to be too maudllin here, but one thing to spend your time on is planning for your future. We all hear the ads to make end-of-life arrangements. Last winter one of my projects was to collect and organize our personal records for the next generation. We have made burial plans ( ironically I now own burial spots in three states - should do something about that ), wills are up to date, have made sure beneficiaries are up to date, and I have put together details on everything for our sons on life insurance, investments, real estate, accounts and logins for everything. This is all stored together and our sons shown where the data is stored.
We are also digitizing 100 years - four generations - of famiy photos that can be shared with all family members instead of the stored-away old photo albums that no one ever sees.
Another thing we have done is to help the kids families with travel expenses to bring them together , usually for Christmas, since they are scattered in Florida, Indiana, and Colorado. And both sons from out-of-state come by themselves at times for real personal visits.
We are blessed with the time given to us, and try to make the best use of what we have.
Cheers!
Rick
Disaster Recovery = Backup ( Backup ( Your Backup ) )
October 28, 2022 at 5:38 pm
A lot has been written about "Quiet Quitting", which as far as I can tell is fulfilling the T&Cs of your employment contract and behaving like a contractor.
By all means go the extra mile provided it helps you.
On Monday last week I went to the funeral of one my closest friend, he was only just 56 and retired at the start of the year.
He had stayed in a job he hated for the sake a gold plated pension scheme. Having negotiated a good deal that would allow him to retire at 55 he looked forward to the next 20 years exploring the places he had never visited, caravanning around Europe. Looking back through our WhatsApp chats he felt unwell in April this year, which was put down to stress of having to care for his Mother. By the time doctors worked out that it wasn't stress he was in the terminal stages of liver cancer.
Until his final week he was either too ill or too emotionally fraught to see anyone other than close family. How do you deal with being told in early summer that you probably won't last until Autumn?
Death and taxes. Those are the absolutes. Nothing else is guaranteed.
I can't bring myself to delete his phone number or remove our WhatsApp conversations. I find myself missing him dreadfully but also being very angry with him for spending 8 hours a day plus commute for so long doing something he hated for a benefit that he hasn't been able to take.
Youth is wasted on the young.
October 29, 2022 at 2:39 am
Steve,
THANK YOU for this thought-provoking and encouraging post. You've put excellent words to many of my own thoughts and feelings at this similar stage in my own life and career. As I spend time away from the keyboard this weekend - enclosing the pole barn, pulling pasture fence, splitting firewood to be seasoned for next year's winter, whatever life brings - I will take encouragement that spending this time working alongside my wife & daughters will be a doubly-profitable use of my time.
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