14 Feb 2021
I didn't write last weekend because I was down in Wilmington looking at the property I'm buying, now known as Pond Place (at least until we settle on a better, more knowledgeable name for it). It is everything I thought it would be and more. I'm in the throes of dreaming about it now that I have a better mental picture of it -- So Many Fun Things to ponder with it. I think I may have rotted my brain a little yesterday with looking at all the images of "small homes open concept eclectic farmhouse" designs. I was going to go with "boho" but apparently that means you have to have a swinging chair in the room...
Back to Step 2a, though. I made it through the first three buckets the last time I wrote, and my goal for this morning (or what's left of this Valentine's Day morning after making blueberry muffins for breakfast, bottling batch #10 and brewing batch #15 of kombucha) is to finish writing down my aspirations -- maybe not so much goals as Greg pointed out to me what I'm putting on paper aren't SMART goals -- for the remaining five buckets.
HomeEmploymentPhysical Health- Hobbies/Interests/Life-long Learning
- Finances
- Self Care
- Relationships
- Travel
Hobbies/Interests/Life-long Learning: Stop learning, start dying. I have so much to say here, I'm going to come back to this one after I've cleared through the others.
Finances: As I said, I don't need a job; my pension will see me through daily expenses as long as I'm not overly extravagant. When I first started thinking about retiring this summer, one of the very first things I did was to put together a budget to see where I'd be. I've been using mint.com for the last 12 years or so to track my spending, so I had pretty good data on what my spending habits have been. I know they'll change somewhat, but I really don't expect them to be vastly different...maybe actually a little lower since I won't have the boom/bust cycle of preparing for (high spending) and going on patrol (low spending) and since the cost of living in Wilmington is maybe a little less than Norfolk. But there still will be some things to consider.
- Set up automatic tithing donations, either to my charitable donations account or directly to the organizations I chose to support. Sadly, I've fallen off with my giving these last couple of years, and I definitely want to get back to it. I remember when I was in Bahrain, I did some deep reflection on what my values were and how I wanted those reflected in my donations. I came up with four primary charities to support, and wrote them down...somewhere (*again!* with the rando spot for writing Important Things down!). If I remember correctly, the charities were Doctors Without Borders, Evidence Action, Propublica, and Berea College's (my alma mater) African American Opportunity Fund...though I feel like I'm missing one because I can't believe there's not an environmental cause in there too. So I guess I need to figure out what that will be also.
- Work on my Big Book of Everything. I started it one afternoon a couple of years ago and haven't touched it since. I want to keep adding to it, and make a calendar reminder to review it annually.
- Plan to review my spending habits/budget annually. Make a calendar reminder for this...but probably not on the same day as reviewing my Big Book of Everything because that is just **too much** grown-upedness for one day...in fact, those two events should probably be separated by six months!
- Go on a silent retreat. I was scheduled to go on one here in April 2020, but then...COVID. I'll have time and flexibility to try again sometime in 2022.
- Incorporate a meditation/yoga space into Pond Place, maybe even as omg! a tree house!! A girl can dream :)
- Find a new massage therapist in Wilmington. My least favorite part about leaving Norfolk will be not being close enough to my massage therapist here for regular massages. Michael at Flow Massage and Bodywork is hands down (tee hee) the best MT I've ever been to. And he's become a good friend. I am hoping I can find someone in Wilmington who is close to his league. Won't stop me from making an appointment with him anytime I happen to be in Norfolk!
- Seek out live music. I haven't had nearly enough of that in my life lately -- definitely due partly to COVID, but also just work.
- For my inner ring of closest loved ones, I want to prioritize time with them. Doesn't necessarily have to be in person, though that would be wonderful. I want to remember birthdays and anniversaries, talk regularly, give presents, tell them I love them, and share experiences that make new memories.
- For my close friends and family, I want the same thing...and recognize that life gets busy and everything can't be a priority. I still want to remember birthdays, talk maybe less frequently but regularly, and be fully present when I'm with them.
- For my local community, I want to get to know my neighbors and people I see regularly, support them where I am able, and again be fully present when I'm with them.
- For my professional community, I want to stay in touch. I know I'm going to lose the regular everydayness of going to work and seeing colleagues, but I'd like to maintain those connections I've made over the last 21 years. I am going to selfishly keep my personal email on the community of cutter(wo)men email distribution list when I turn it over to the next caretaker. I would like to tap into the community of local CG retirees in the local area -- goodness knows there are plenty in Wilmington.
- Plan at least one big (multi-week, probably international) trip a year.
- Write down a bucket list of places I want to go. I know it's in my head, but writing down things helps me.
- I already have tentative plans for this summer -- action packed with all kinds of fun adventures. Paddle boarding the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) from Norfolk as far south as I can go in about two months starting about two weeks after my Change of Command, then to MerleFest in the NC mountain foothills (I planned to go last year, and yep, COVID-cancelled), then a couple of weeks in Costa Rica with Greg showing me around his adopted home, then down to Peru with Greg for the hiking tour from Cusco to Machu Picchu and some time on the coast at Chicama, and then back to CR to help Greg make his move back to the States, and landing in ILM sometime before Thanksgiving. Yep, that'll keep me travel-satisfied for a little while!
- Write, write, write. I want to write. I want the freedom and the lack of pressure and the time to write. It might be this blog or it might be just a journal for me or it might be something else that I eventually even try to publish. But I want to write! I want it to be something I do regularly and can't imagine not doing.
- First round of classes I'm thinking about taking, with the possibility of various certifications: welding, massage therapy, permaculture design. Just for fun and because I can. Hmm, I see my privilege flaunting itself...
- Explore my entrepreneurial inclinations. I have a couple of hobby-to-business ideas rattling around in my head. Kombucha-brewing, granola-making, and upcycling old ODUs into bags are the top three.
- Start a sourdough starter, try making sauerkraut, and get into bokashi composting. Explore the microbiome :)
** Step 3: Ready myself for the Ending by talking (writing) about what is ending -- there is *definitely* a blog post (at least one, maybe more) in this step.
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