Long Range Planning?

 

           Hello, gentle readers! Hope you are all well and staying safe. 

I have never been one to make long range plans. I’ve always been too busy just getting through the day, the week, the month (you know, one day at a time). That question they ask you in interviews: where do you see yourself in five years? Yeah, always had the biggest problem answering that because I just didn’t know. I never made plans that far in advance (although my standard answer was always: Hopefully here, doing my best work, which seemed to satisfy interviewers). The most I’ve ever done is a year, because you know, stuff happens…and the plans you made go by the wayside.

But I find lately that that has changed. I’ve actually set my retirement date. Granted, it’s
almost seven years in the future, but it was a revelation for me. With a definite date in mind, I, the woman who never plans more than a few months into the future, have begun to plan.

I’m not big on traveling (neither is my DH. Getting him on a plane is rather difficult), but there are a few places I’d like to go so those went on the list (mind you, they are not exotic, far away places, but there are several beaches I’d like to lay on and while away the hours, preferably with some fruity cocktail in one hand and a book in the other). Of course, there is visiting friends and family and I will do those before I retire as well as after, but still…it’s a long range plan, something I have shied away from all these years.

There are other things, but I’m still working on them so I’m not ready to divulge anything (the brain is busy figuring everything out—and it’s a difficult process because I’ve never done it before).

          Most importantly, I plan to write. I write now, but without the demands of the day job, I’ll have more time to do so. I say that, but I’ve heard from people who have retired that they are busier now than they’ve ever been and then there is the all important question – will I still have the words. I hope I do because there are, at this moment, twenty-seven stories in my queue. Between now and that magical retirement date, I’ll have a few already done (plus, I’m sure, many more added).

I keep telling myself these are baby steps. I need to go slow as this is such a radical change for me, BUT that first, all important, date has been set and I am ready.

Stay well! Stay safe! And remember to spread kindness wherever you go!

Marie