Change in Winds

I've been feeling the winds, and there's a change in the air. As happens when you're sailing, changing winds make the boat bounce around a bit and the water gets choppy, but then the wind picks up again and if you're ready, you can set your sails for the new direction and cruise. (And yes, that's the boat I hang out on a lot. No, I'm not in that picture. It's not that easy too get good pictures of your own boat- you're usually on it!)

Life is changing, and I'm pretty sure I like the direction the winds are heading. I'm still simplifying and getting rid of stuff (and getting ready to load the Etsy shop with pounds of hand-dyed fiber, set up a destash on Ravelry again, and list another pile of books on Amazon) and organizing what's left, including my time.

And time has suddenly become very important to me. Both my parents aer finally retired, and having watched Mom fight all those years, working long hours and overtime, to finally retire in time to frantically biks all over the country "before she gets old", and watching young cousins battle with breast cancers, and friends lose houses to foreclosure...well, I don't want to walk that path.

I'll be debt-free this fall. Finally. My student loans were paid off last January, and I've been paying over $700 each month toward debt reduction. I have only a few more payments on the big consolidation loan, then a few random smaller debts that need paid, and I will be in the Black.

And I think, after I invest a bunch of the excess previously-debt-payment in my retirement finds, I think I'm going to try to back off the work life and invest in my private life. I have a son to raise, and a million things on my to-do list (ok, I'll be honest, it's really only in the 12,000 ballpark) and a son that's not going to want my attention much longer... I want to live my life as it happens, not wait for retirement that might never come.

So to that end, the winds are changing, and it's far more favorable on the new heading, I just have to wait for it to settle before I can settle in for the ride.