Retirement Plans.....

Today at worked sucked BIG TIME! On days like these, it helps to fantasize about retiring. I'm nowhere near that yet, but still....we talk about it a lot. We have a tentative plan that goes something like this: We sell off most of our worldly possessions except for the most cherished and necessary and we travel. Not continuously, because seriously I don't like living out of suitcases and being constantly on the move. But more like picking out places that we really enjoy and renting an apartment there for about a year or so. Its hard to get an actual feel for a place if you just visit briefly for a vacation. I would like to get to know these places....really KNOW them firsthand. Experience everything a place has to offer 24/7 for a decent length of time.

Of course, we like to sit back and list the places we would like to live. New York makes the list. Maybe it even makes the top of the list. I could totally live there for at least a while. I'm not sure we could see everything there is to see in a year. There is an energy about that place. A vibe. It feels like the center of the universe. And the shopping....Oh my Lord. The shopping! Thats all I have to say about that!

And then....lets spend a year or so on some beachfront property somewhere NOT in the continental US. Maybe the Virgin Islands. Or maybe Costa Rica or even Mexico. We went to Costa Maya a couple of years ago (on a cruise) and it was beyond beautiful. We went snorkeling at a place just like this:

After that, there just HAS to be a year in New Orleans. I'm not entirely sure my husband will go for that one, but the fact is that I love that place. Like "love" love it. I felt like I had come home the very first time I went there. I think it has something to do with the fact that its a lot like Charleston, SC where I spent a whole lot of time during my childhood. Like Charleston on steriods. I can sit and people watch in Jackson Square for hours on end. I saw the vampires stalking the steps of St. Louis Cathedral while the religious freak screamed about eternal damnation right beside them. Where else in the world can you see that? While having your fortune told by a purple-haired psychic at the same time??? Beautiful. There is a certain weirdness about that place that soothes me. I am weird by nature, myself. I feel perfectly at peace there.

And the list goes on and on. My husband would love to live somewhere out in the desert someplace. Maybe someplace near the Grand Canyon. Actually, if he could, he would probably live right on down in the middle of the Canyon. That one might be a hard sell for me. But if he would deal with the strangeness of New Orleans, I suppose I could deal with the isolation of the canyon. For a year. If we had internet access....haha.

Anyway, these are the thoughts that get me through a hell day at work. It keeps me going. But I don't know if any of these things will ever transpire. I mean, suppose we have grandchildren by retirement ...? Would I rather spend time with my grandkid or people-watch in Jackson Square? Thats a tough call. I have a feeling priorities change as time goes on. But whatever dreams get you through the day.....right?