While seemingly contradictory, life is both long and maddeningly short. While 39 is the turning point to the back forty of your life, it can also be the turning point in peace, happiness, and more importantly fulfillment.

In short, if you are unhappy with your life- do something different. Maybe even extreme different, for there is little time to waste. In reality, if you have little assets and more debt than you realistically repay- abandon the status quo and search for a little slice of happiness before you’re too old to enjoy your freedom.

Best of luck,

JC

We’re defining success now as ‘time well spent’ versus financial accumulation. There is a balance, but less money and more time with family is a whole lot better than the opposite.

Thanks for the comments and keep them coming- It’s all about perspective

JC

I realized today as I looked back on my own life that perspective is what it is all about. As parents we get wrapped up in the day to day things like work and home responsibility that as things come at us we may lose the true importance of it all. Yet as children life seemed to take forever and birthdays and Christmas, Halloween and Easter never came fast enough. The reality of it is this, If you have a child or children do you realize that you only get 18 of each of those before they are gone? 18! Not a big number when you put it all in perspective.18 days out of the 6,570 days in 18 years. 18 days that you can never get back once they are gone. How many of you wish you could get back just one Christmas eve when your child was 2 or 3? To see the glitter in their eyes as they round the corner to see the tree lit up and presents of all colors underneath… What about the joy of sitting around the living room floor and dumping out the bags of candy from the Halloween pillage as you search for that dreaded needle in the apple or razor blade in the candy… Never happened did it? Still to watch the joy in their faces as they realize all that candy is for them… Pure joy for the family that loves deeply. In these days of financial concern and who is to be the next president, take a minute and think about what is really important. Your children. Go home tonight and hug them or if they are grown call them. Make plans for the upcoming holidays and make sure you take lots of mental pictures along with the digital ones. You see you only truly have 18 of each to start with, how many you actually get is known only to God. Make good use of your time, sacrifice if you must.The smiles on your children’s faces and the warm hugs and kisses are well worth it. Enjoy your family.

Jim

I wrote this in October of 2008… Your blog brought it back to me. Enjoy your journey.

No plans to head north in the immediate future until after the baby is born. We have the St. Simons house rented Jan through April, so we could escape away for a few months.

They say writers write. I guess I qualify, but I sure wouldn’t mind a little more formal direction.

One step at a time.