Smell the Roses

I didn't have to wake up to smell these... just unpack my grocery bag from Aldi.  When I see bouquets of a half dozen roses for $3.99, I'll generally go for it.  That is such a good price for a little something out of the ordinary.  My favorite color for roses, is yellow.  While these aren't super luxury florist flowers, they are still roses!

We've had a couple of "smell the roses" moments lately.  One reason I quit my job was that with two of us working so many hours, we were missing the good times.  When you are stressed and unhappy, you see the world through a frantic set of lenses.  Now I can see the world through "rose-colored" glasses.  With a less frantic pace, we can take the time to enjoy our experiences.  Have a cleaner house and flowers on the table is really nice!

I've had a number of "smell the roses" wake-up calls too.  Three people I know have died this spring.  Two of them were former colleagues.  From that job, another woman had died a few years earlier.  All had been in their early 70's.  Three weeks ago, a lady from camp who had just retired a few years before, died suddenly of a stroke.  As we have neared retirement, it seems that each year someone we know who has recently retired has passed away.

Our goal is to retire as soon as we can.  For me, I am half-way there by working part time.  If we continue to see our savings grow, TBG may be able to leave his job at 60.  He would find an easier and more fulfilling full-time job so we could have health insurance.  But our goal is not to work as long as we can.  Financial planners write articles about putting off retirement until 70.  That is not our plan.  We want to have years to enjoy and seeing so many others who did not have time to enjoy their retirement, we feel it's important to make sure we have many years to enjoy after our careers.

Saving is an important part of that goal, but not so scrupulously that I can't see fit to put flowers on my table!