The last two years has been incredibly difficult for a lot of people. I recognize that as a whole, Sherine and I have been lucky. We have great jobs that have afforded as to work from home. Real Estate and our other investments have done well. Yes, we’ve been lucky and far too many people have had it a lot worse.
That said, Sherine has lost both of her parents to cancer in this time and as of Monday, my dad is now in the hospital again. Since watching the process several times now, I am amazed by just how robust life is yet, at the same time, how very fragile it is. So, while I’ve been told that my dad will be having an end-of-life discussion with his doctor, you can’t really be sure whether this is really the end this hospital visit or whether there’s a few more to go.
Anyways, all of this has reinforced in my mind the reason why I’m eagerly driving towards an early retirement to pursue my lifelong dream of cruising. My dad is 80. It’s hard not to think that he’s only a mere 28 years older than I am and that 28 years is NOT ENOUGH.
I would be a very large sum of money that what of my deathbed regrets will be not working a few more years…but I do know that if some unfortunate events come my way which would otherwise prevent me from getting to or enjoying this lifelong dream, I will have regrets.
Hearing of my dad’s prognosis caused me to think about giving notice immediately…why wait, I kept asking. However, as I continue to mature I have recognized the propensity of me slipping into this type of extreme of fatalist thinking in times of stress. So, I slept on it and most times, I regain clarity.
The timeline is the same. The plan hasn’t changed but I have even more resolve about the plan for ever. Back to work!