About Us

I recognize we are fortunate and have made decisions throughout the last 30 years that afford us this opportunity to retire; our plan was not without financial consultation, and while not necessary, we expect to participate in future “fun” jobs.

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Neither one of us have reached the traditional “retirement” age of 65; the age when we both expected to finish our careers. However, COVID and subsequent events awakened within us an evaluation of our life and priorities; rather than following the expected trajectory, we have opted to be true to ourselves.

 

Rewind to February 2020…

 

We’d just celebrated our 15-year-wedding anniversary with our adult children vacationing in Mexico. We love traveling, exploring and being active. We had multiple weekend trips planned … until the world shut down in March.

 

In September 2020, my husband’s cherished 52-year-old cousin was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Like many lost during COVID’s shut-down, our October goodbyes were over the phone.

 

With three more relatives passing during November, we began commenting that our 70-hour work weeks were not aligned to our values, and our health, both mental and physical, was suffering. We’ve spent our lives volunteering, giving generously, caring for children and aging parents, doing what was expected. But what did we want out of the remainder of this one glorious life we’ve been given? We confirmed we wanted to see the world, be adventurous in experiencing and exploring other countries, continents and cultures. We wanted to wake up daily without plans, expectations or obligations and enjoy life together. We wanted to create memories and we wanted to be healthy while doing so.

 

By December, after months of being house-bound like everyone else, we were dreaming of being someplace else. In our 56 and 60 years, respectively, neither of us had experienced travel, camp or vacation, away from jobs, responsibilities or homes for more than 14 days. We wanted to see what we liked or missed, living in a different locale. We explored renting an Airbnb in Kailua, on the island of Oahu.

 

With COVID restrictions, travel to Hawaii required a negative PCR test and a 30-day minimum rental. We booked a 3-bedroom home near the beach, bought plane tickets, scheduled our COVID tests, and crossed our fingers.

 

Being away from home in Hawaii for 30+ days, was, life-changing. We marveled at how liberating it felt to live elsewhere and truly relax and unwind vs visiting for a week or two, and feeling the urge to see and do everything.

 

We lost my 91-year-old mother-in-law shortly before Christmas while still away. When two of our three children joined us during our last week in Hawaii, we celebrated her life, on a beautiful beach, at sunrise with words of celebration and gratitude, followed by sending a lei into the surf in her honor.

 

Returning to “real life” in early January 2021, we began reflecting upon our desire to travel for much longer periods of time. That trip planted the seed for a potential vacation home, and when the North Denver housing market sky-rocketed in March 2021, we gladly sold our bigger-than-we-needed home, purchased a smaller, turn-key townhome, and used the remaining proceeds to buy a place in Hawaii. Same square footage, just 3000 miles apart!

 

Retirement planning was underway, we had a place to escape winter weather, and we continued to enjoy living in Denver. While our jobs continued to demand working weekends, we usually got away one day to hike in the mountains. Life was returning to a “new normal”. Until September, when one of my husband’s employees, a 38-year-old rising star, died tragically in an auto accident. His girlfriend survived, but lost both arms, undergoing multiple surgeries, prosthetic fittings, and relearning life without her partner.

 

This young man was talking to Chris on Friday about a new project they were to start on Monday. Two days later, while enjoying lunch outdoors during a beautiful Sunday afternoon, we received a call that he was gone. Poof! The fragility of life loomed large. Here was another wake-up call, to reflect on life as more than 70-hour-work weeks, while planning and saving for the future. The future was now.

 

In November, my peer and work colleague passed away unexpectedly while vacationing. The following week, my ex-husbands’ girlfriend had a heart attack. Fortunately, she survived. This time we acted. Life’s currency is not money, but time, memories, and treasured moments. We set an official retirement date and started preparing.

 

My husband’s (now former) employer is owned by a private equity firm. When they divest, he stands to gain financially. But the date is unclear, as is the amount. My retirement date was simpler to define. Upon reaching two conditions (over the age of 55, with 10+ years of service) I was eligible to retire and retain earned equity. Our date became one business day after my ten-year anniversary – August 7, 2023!Even as we prepared, constant reminders confirmed our decision. A friend from our years in Minneapolis, died in a freak incident from a bee sting. A neighbor during our six years in North Denver died from a heart attack at 52.

 

Following multiple retirement parties, many well-wishes, and repeated assurances from our wealth managers that we would be fine, we walked away from good-paying careers in search of time spent together while pursuing new and different adventures. We hope you’ll follow our travels, missteps, insights, and experiences!