Doing it all over again: if I knew then what I know now

A year ago, my husband and I set in motion a series of leaps (of faith) that turned our well-laid retirement planning into a buckle-up-for-the-ride-of-a-lifetime adventure. But to say we were unprepared would be an understatement. For example, what if we’d known our small town would receive a record snowfall (with only front-wheel drive vehicles…

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Unpacking the ‘feels:’ shedding the old for the new

A couple months ago, I announced my “retirement” (I use that term loosely!) and spent five weeks preparing for my replacement. During that time, I also entertained out-of-town family, my husband and I sold our home and began searching for “new digs,” I continued submitting writing samples and stories (sold one!) and organized a moving…

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After the leap: beginning a new journey

If you follow my weekly blog posts and receive my Always the Write Time emails, you’re privy to a fresh leap of faith my husband and I recently took. Rather than live with a retirement mentality, we prayerfully chose to retire “early” (by social security standards). We also sold our home and packed up our…

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A minimalist life: just the necessities, please

For many of us, the past 18+ months presented myriad opportunities to reassess and reprioritize what we do and how we do it — ultimately forcing us to reconsider if there might be a better way…whether today, or years down the line. It might mean something simple, like removing excess “clutter” within our daily lives…

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