Another Birthday and My Thoughts

And so we have come to another full revolution around the sun and another birthday for me! I can remember back to when being another year older was pretty cool stuff. Being closer to driving. Being closer to age 21. After that there were some milestone birthdays for sure, such as each decade. Then came 50 years old with the sobering thoughts of having 2/3 of my life in the year view mirror. Well, at 66 coming up soon, here are my thoughts on the matter…

According to Google, the average life expectancy in the US for men is 76 years old. That is some easy math, so I may have another ten years. Although, my family history is somewhat longer than that. My father died at 88 and mom is doing fine at about that same age. So you have that.

Only God knows how long I have on this earth, but for some rough planning let’s say it is somewhere between the 76 and 88 years. So, what is my plan for this autumn/winter phase of life?

As an accountant through my working years, I’ve done a tremendous amount of planning. We would perform a weekly flash forecast for the financial performance of my work operation. Then, we would tackle a monthly forecast. And don’t forget the annual business plan plus the five year strategic plan. And of course there was the reconciliations of actual results back to each plan. Some nightmares for sure.

In my personal life, I have also had a financial plan for the last 35 years to meet certain goals. Meeting the goals would allow us to retire and enjoy doing the things that Pat and I had planned for retirement. Sure there were the bumps down the road with the unexpected expenses, but somehow we overcame these and decided at 63, to retire and begin on this crazy full time RV life that has become a true blessing.

In this blog, I do not focus on politics, although I certainly have some strong conservative beliefs. The same is true with religion. I have a strong Christian faith, but do not want the blog to be one of proselytizing. The blog is just pretty simply a journal of our life as retired RVers.

So from my beliefs I don’t worry about about the end of the road, so to speak. But, I do pause to wonder at how quickly time does move on by. We started this RV journey almost three years ago and originally planned for a three year trip. Now that has turned into a maybe five years so that we can see more of the US before establishing a home base again and begin to slow the travels.

My advice to anyone contemplating retirement is to build a plan, stick to it, and retire to what you would enjoy doing. Something that would stretch you bit. Get out of the comfort zone. Whether it is RV travels, mountain climbing, or exploring the world. While a front porch rocking chair may sound relaxing, the clock is ticking.

There will come a time when you are no longer able to physically do those things. My father-in-law suffered a serious stroke at a fairly young age. He still continued some RV traveling, but at a limited scope. My point is that you just do not know what the future holds.

I hope to be able to look back over my blog posts at some point way in the future, when I am no longer physically able to do much. Maybe I can relive these moments after my memories have faded.

In the meantime though, I hope to make each day count, try to make a difference where I can, and keep a positive approach to these so called twilight years!

Below is a photo of me recently provided by a grade school friend (Will Shouse). The year is 1961 and at a birthday party. The cigarettes were candy. 🙂 Who remembers the wood paddles with a rubber band ball attached?

Take care and God Bless.