Feeling humble but positive.

 

This is one time where writing this is very humbling, having to admit you took some wrong turns brings out a vulnerability and I feel like what I am going to say should stay hidden behind the walls that I have a tendency to build up. But I hope that writing this may help some else that thought they were going to have a life of rainbows and sunshine and ended up getting some clouds and storms not feel so alone. 

So here goes:

Retirement should be the time of your life where you can finally relax and enjoy life.

Well, I guess if you do it right and plan early enough it can be.  Too bad not everyone does that (us included) and I think that is why so many people don’t ever get the chance to retire.  I can remember thinking when we were young, how far away retirement seemed and how we felt we had all the time in the world and then in a blink of an eye I am 65 and looking at the world with a different perspective.

When we made this move and retired together, we thought we had a plan, but we all know the saying we make plans and God laughs.  Well, he does have a sense of humor. 

When you finally decide to retire, ensure you have a budget that you can live with, but figure into this your new lifestyle not the old one. Because none of us want to put all our hopes and dreams for retirement on hold.

We thought we were ready, but quickly learned that happy hours, eating out, golfing, going on trips and enjoying new experiences cost a little more than expected, not to mention airfare to visit family and friends, and doing this all at a time when everything in the country was on the rise. Add in the cost of moving across country and you can put a real dent into the plan. 

I thank God that we have a house in paradise and great friends, our family and most of all our health, so I am very grateful that a part of our dream came true, but it has come to our attention that we need to increase the Retirement fund again.  As they say it’s time to pay the piper. So, in addition to working my travel business, I have taken a part-time remote position.  I look around and many of my friends are still working so why not get back on the horse for a while.  Bert worked very hard, and many more hours than I for a very long time, so now it's my turn. 

Bert has become a pretty good cook and keeps the house up. It’s funny how the roles have changed. I remember my mom working while my father was retired, so I guess I have come full circle.

Every milestone is our life usually starts with a new beginning, so now we are starting Retirement 1.2.  Making a few new decisions and putting one foot in front of another. It is going to require putting some things on hold for a while but I know that when the time is right God will lead us down the right road and even though the light of the future has become a little dimmer it still is shinning and it is up to us to chip away at the tunnel until the light shines brighter than ever before.

So now we are managing our time, and our money a little differently and put a lot more faith in God.  We understand it’s all in God’s plan and that there is a reason for everything.  We will learn and grow from this. 

 Lesson learned: Don’t let a setback end your dreams, keep trusting in the Lord, work hard, stay positive and know that as long as you have the love of family and friends, health and most importantly faith that you can turn things around. Please remember if you are in this same situation, feelings of depression and feeling defeated are overcome with positivity and prayer.

Follow me, so you can see what happens next.  

Fast forward 7 years Part 3. Hurricanes, Family and Retirement.

Despite concerns about hurricanes, we loved living in Florida. As a major storm approached, we readied shutters and a generator, then stocked up on essentials like batteries, lanterns, propane, food, gas, and cash. Trusting our preparation, we waited and left the rest to God. Meanwhile, our son called with a local job offer and visited briefly before Hurricane Ian intensified—we were excited for the possibility of family nearby but remained cautious as the storm grew.

With the news constantly on, we waited, the morning of arrival we got notification to evacuate. Thank God we had friends that were not in the evacuation area and so we continued to prepare and readied for a hurricane party. Together with another couple we went to our friends out to wait for the storm. Being Italian of course I brought Pasta, wine and plenty of food. You know I wasn’t even afraid.  We made the best of it, and after it hit with the full force of mother nature, we were glad that we were together.

We went back to our homes to check on the damage and by the will of God most of our home was spared and although some of our friends lost a lot more, none of us lost our life.

We were incredibly lucky, as we drove home the telephone poles littered the roads like toothpicks. Trees were down and intersections had no lights. There was no gas, and stores were closed. We were grateful that we had prepared in advance. 

The community was broken, but yet positive in rebuilding. We met neighbors, helped each other, and learned how good humanity can be. 

                                                              

A few days after it hit, with power still out, our son moved here.  His job was still available, and they really wanted him.  It was nice to have him here to help but I felt bad that he had to leave his family back in Colorado to do everything so they could all move here.

We recovered and as each day came and went our paradise came back, before Christmas the rest of Nick’s family came out and it was a blessing to have them with us as they prepared for a new adventure.  I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

With that said, our son Anthony informed us that he and his girlfriend were also moving here. My heart leapt with joy to have family close by.  The new adventure had become a family affair and was so grateful.

Next will be "Were we really prepared for Retirement"

Lesson learned, never underestimated the power of mother nature, whether it is a blizzard, a tornado or the biggest hurricane in 100 years.  Be smart, be prepared listen to the experts and God will bring you through it. Also, God knows what you need before we do, you can never measure what a smile from your children or grandchildren can do for your soul.

Fast forward 7 years Part 2. Life after the loss of my father

 

After the loss of my father everything changed.

The loss of my father hit me hard, I knew that he was happy, and with the Lord, but my world seemed empty, as did our house.  I had a lot of talks with my father as he was facing the end of his life.  We spoke of regrets and dreams.  He told me “Don’t have any regrets” it was one of the things that made him sad, that he had too many regrets in his life.  He knew that we wanted to move to Florida, He knew how much I wanted to be near the water and how being near the water made me feel close to God.  He told me "when I’m gone, go live your life, enjoy the adventure". So, as hard as it was, we put the house up for sale and with lots of hugs and tears we said goodbye to family, friends and Colorado and found a new home in Florida. 

“Just the two of Us”. That’s the song that kept running through my mind as we drove across country to our new home, that we had only seen online.  I was filled with anxiety as we got closer. We pulled in the driveway, and it was exactly what we wanted.  I took a breath and felt like it was the first time in quite a while that I could breathe.  We walked through the house and other than some small changes it was perfect, I ventured outside and smiled as I looked up, I had a palm tree in my yard, something I never thought I would have. As we sat by the pool and just took it all in, I cried. It seemed like I had dreamed of this for so long and now it had come true.  

All I could think is God is Good.

                                                       

I had never lived outside of Colorado and felt like a fish out of water.  Everything was different, the scenery, the weather, and the flatness. It seemed to bring my husband and I closer together as we had no one else to lean on. With the help of some great neighbors, we found our way around, a place to shop, where the home depot was, (very important when you have a new house), where to eat (especially pizza, a true necessity) and most importantly a Church. Bert had promised that we would meet friends so as soon as we could, we ventured off to a meeting for new residence and that night again changed our lives.

We met a group of friends that moved to Florida all with the same dream and immediately felt like they were family.  I tell everyone, “I met family I didn’t know I had” Even though that was over 3 years ago I feel like it was yesterday.  Our lives here were busy, our days were filled with fun, friends, sun and relaxation. 

This move refreshed my sole and allowed me to feel like the next chapter of our life as Seniors in paradise was going to be amazing.  But was it........

I will leave it there for this week, except my son Anthony said that "I should leave each blog with a lesson learned".  So here is it: No matter how old you are don’t settle. Don’t let the fear of change put walls up around you. If you have a chance to reach for your dream, stretch out your hand and grab it.  If it is meant to be God will show you the way.  Have faith not only in yourself, but your partner and most of all in God.  If you fail it is okay at least you tried and you will as my father said you will “have no regrets”