Can you believe in the 9 years we've had the cottage, we've never spent a whole week up there at once? Now before you jump to the conclusion it was all a waste of money, you need to remember all the other travel we do in a year as well as the role our cottage plays in our life.
It was never a substitute for travel and it was never to be the only thing in our lives. And it was purchased at a price that reflected the amount of use it was going to get (ditto for the ski condo). More importantly it was purchased with a plan in mind and we have reached a time where the results of that plan have finally come into fruition.
The cottage is a place where we can get clean air, access to beautiful waters, great trails, dark night time skies (Stars!), and a place where we can come down from the stresses of the week. Being around nature is a great way to do that. Our home is beautiful but it cannot replicate what we get up north.
We are now able to head up on a Wed night and stay there til Tues every time there is a Mon holiday day. All D has to do is work remote or take 3 days off. And now he can do so without any special permission. This is a life changer. Piece by piece we are fine tuning our lifestyle.
As we wrap up our first week up north, I cannot help but feel immensely grateful for how my life has turned out. I can speak for D too as he feels the same. It wasn't always this "easy".
This is very inspiring to many of us who are still figuring out how to eventually downshift our lives.
ReplyDeleteThanks S.B. As you know, it is just one way. And it took a while to get there. Your "Constancy of Purpose" post definitely rang a bell.
ReplyDeleteThe key for us this time is D's developing relationship with his "boss" and his understanding of us and our life.
That trust in D's ability to work and deliver wherever he is is so very valuable. Enough for D not to want to move to another boss.
Not everyone on the team has the same leeway. Brings me back to yet another one of your posts on "Autonomy".
What would you like your life to look like once you downshift?
What would I like my life to look like once I downshift? Sometimes I'm not sure I entirely know, which is definitely not helping with constancy of purpose. :-)
ReplyDeleteI really think the bottom line is I want a lot more time off and I want it in big blocks (i.e. not a part-time, 20-30 hour/week job). I think if I had that, I'd be willing to put up with whatever I have to do for the other 8 or 9 months of the year.
Yup, knowing "What" is useful before the "How"... :)
ReplyDeleteLarge chunks of time off is a wish of mine too. I'm too chicken to take even a month off (still!) even though in the course of a year, I take 12 weeks or so off in 2 week chunks.
As we've discussed, contract work isn't ideal so other than becoming a teacher, I don't know of other ways one could work 8 - 9 months a year.
If you come up with something, please let me know.
OK, just thought of something -- Seasonal work, like at a ski resort.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing with that, is whether you'd want to spend 30+ hours a week in a job that might only pay $12/hr. Would it be fun enough to justify the time?
Obviously it also assumes there is enough money in the bank to support a hobby style of job.