Our story!

For several years now I have had the urge to travel which has been a dream of mine before marriage and children. My husband was never keen on the idea until one afternoon in 2016 he said, "let's do this!" The next day I began to sell, donate and give away items from my home. He was a bit shocked when he got home from work. I immediately called a realtor and our home sold within 24 hours for more than we were asking. I had sold, donated and given away EVERYTHING so that the day we moved we didn't even need a truck. We were able to drive away with everything we had left in both our vehicles. We moved to a smaller place directly across from the beach to enjoy the sunrise and sunsets for the following year before taking off to travel full time!

Anxiety (Retirement Planning)

Written 8/30/2016 as we were making plans to retire by 2018:  


When I was only 38 years old I went through menopause and developed Agoraphobia which the Mayo clinic defines as a type of anxiety disorder in which you fear and often avoid places or situations that might cause you to panic and make you feel trapped, helpless or embarrassed. The doctor put me on Paxil for about 3 years but then the side affects began to bother us more than the agoraphobia, so I stopped.


Since then I have found other ways to deal with the anxiety. One of the best ways is my camera because I find that it changes my perspective. A crowded facility can cause me panic and then behind the camera it becomes art. Art soothes my soul so I try to always carry it with me to be ready for anything.


Because of this I am prone to anxiety for many different reasons. Home has always been my safe place. This has been a challenging decision for me and yet exciting that I would even consider the thought of leaving my safe place. Not letting myself be overcome with fear about the idea has been in my thought processes each day. 


There is certainly no easy cure for anxiety and some days are better than others. My youngest daughter said she can see I am at peace with this whole decision. Peace is exactly what I was not expecting as we have been making preparations. Peace came unexpectedly for both of us and I am grateful!



I took this picture in 2015 of my nieces on Sanibel Island during a weekend vacation together.

No comments:

Post a Comment