“What I want is one thing, what I’ll end up settling for is an entirely differently thing”
I don’t often think about my endgame. My finality.
I’m too caught up in the now.
Plus, I have a rule. Stop thinking so far ahead and worrying about things too far down the line. Live in the moment. Enjoy the here and now. Travel, live, love, take photos, hug your family and friends, snuggle your dogs and cats, buy the books, and try to write more.
The way I hope to retire would look something like this…
Nice condo somewhere quiet, comfortable. I might live somewhere else probably because the time I’m old enough to retire my aunt and uncle will be gone. Freelance writing on the side, paid or unpaid, wouldn’t matter to me. Maybe volunteer at an animal shelter (in honor of my aunt.) More travel. Have a cute little front porch to sit on during cooler evenings to read and listen to music, stargaze. I need to be somewhere where there are lightning bugs; I love to watch them at night. Financial comfort and safety. A nice and simple but affordable life, with a little leeway to be able to do small things on the side.
This would be my ideal retirement.
Since I’m about to turn 37 soon, and I was already smart enough to open an IRA; I’m hoping that if social security isn’t obliterated by the time I am ready that this very simplistic picture I painted could come true. Being a government employee also affords me a lot of benefits for retirement as well, especially if I stay a certain amount of years.
I do not want for much, but it seems as if the less I yearn for the harder I have to work for the little I do want. I’m just going to stop wanting things all together at some point.
Paradiso 