Wavering... or Stay the Course?

I heard fulltimers talk about the emotional roller coaster that they experience leading up to their eventual departure to their new life.  I just didn't realize how these emotions (and I'm not a terribly emotional person) would fly thorough your mind, one right after another.  Sort of like hitting yourself over the head with a 2X4.  Again and again.

Worry.  Excitement.  Second thoughts.  Guilt.  Joy.  Sadness.  Thrills.  Double checking your plans...for the third time.

Then when you've finally convinced yourself for the tenth time everything is going to be okay, you get some new assignments dangled under your nose.  Those assignments would bring a promotion to the top of the heap and a bigger pension.  I could remain for 2 1/2 more years and then I'd hit the mandatory years of total service and have to retire.  Tempting, very tempting. 

Then the roller coaster starts again.  I spent time on the phone with my assignment officer discussing the potential assignments.  I have to let him know tomorrow if I'm going to take any of them.

As with every job, there are many negatives for staying on, too.  It is sometimes easy to forget the grief and aggravation that you go through, the things that drive you crazy and the people you have to put up with.

Do I want to stay or go?  Sometimes you get lucky and something comes along to re-enforce your decision.

I got a call from one guy at my agency headquarters.  They found an award for me that was buried under some papers in one of the bigwig's desks.  An award for saving a woman's life.  It was supposed to be awarded to me...in 2006!  The guy wanted to know if I would be interested in having it presented to me in an award ceremony.

Yes, I think that helped cement my decision to stay the course and move forward to fulltime.  I told him to put the award in the mail...

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Marti's Musings: One more step....but still...

New Year. 2011.  This year brings a lot of exciting potentials - and actuals.  Paul has put in his retirement letter, so that is an actual - he will be retired by September 1.  My retirement is uncertain, therefore a potential.  We feel pretty confident, however, that it will be an actual by September 1 - if the house sells.  Indications are good for the housing market, if you can believe Zillow.com.  Housing in our area is on an upswing!  Yeah! 

We have been sharing our progress in the house, weeding out, throwing out, sorting out.  (OUT being the obvious term) as well as upgrading the aesthetics.  We are tackling what we think are the worst areas, the basement and garage, and we are making great progress, although we are not done. Time seems to be flying by when I think of all that needs to be done and now how little time we seem to have before we put the house on the market!

So, to add another layer, I have now formatted and initiated our budget for RVing full time.  Yikes!  And I thought cleaning out would be scary.  Seeing the actual retirement numbers, and knowing what we currently are at ....  downright scary alright.  Paul assures me, and I must admit, it appears to be so, that he has budgeted high on many line items, just to be on the safe side, but still.... and I know that our actual needs will be greatly reduced, not being in the work force, but still....and I know that we will be spending large pockets of time in one area, near the kids - and sometimes that will mean no cost on campgrounds, but still...

Often I wonder if we are downright crazy.  Mind you, I am a conservative thinker; and here I am embarking on a free-style lifestyle - rather the antithesis of who I am.... but still.... it attracts me, primarily because of the pull of family and loving to travel. 

Yeah, it is scary - but still....we are going forward, with knees knocking, heart pounding, and mind swirling madness...but still.... we go forward....

~Marti

How We Spent New Year's Day

A day when we're both off is a rare occasion.  New Year's Day to boot...a holiday.  However, there is no holiday from getting our house ready for sale.  So today we tackled the garage for two reasons, one to get rid of old, useless "stuff" and to make room for some firewood.

We have a fireplace in our home and enjoy having a nice fire to sit by in the evening.  This year we decided to only take half of our usual amount.  Normally whatever we have left over when camping season hits becomes campfire wood.  This summer we hope to be cruising down the highway and a load of wood ain't comin', we'll need every square inch for items we really need.  Wood?  We'll pick it up as needed.

A little sweeping...

and some vacuuming with the R2D2 vac,

and we were ready for our firewood.

Right on time came Doug, our firewood guy.

In no time, we we all stocked up and ready for some nice, cozy fires.

On deck next was a run to the used book store with a bunch of books to turn in.  Until Marti's phone rang.  A quick detour to her office for a "few minutes" turned into the rest of the afternoon with her having to deal with some issues while I cooled my heels in the lobby playing Angry Birds on Marti's new I Phone.

I'm really learning to hate that game...

A little further progress.  Hopefully we'll have fewer interruptions as time goes by.

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