A Shut Down?!

It's been two weeks since my last post.  Sorry I haven't written, but with constantly working and barely paying the bills ... Ken and I decided to "shut down" for the past two weeks.  We slept late, lounged on the sofa and watched re-runs of "The Wonder Years", ignored the bills and ate junk food all day.  We blew off our responsibilities, went shopping, charged up the credit cards, and figured we'd worry about the consequences later.  Why do today what we could do tomorrow?

Are you reading this and thinking we've become irresponsible losers?  Come on ... do you think we'd really run our household like our government runs the country?!  Nope, we'd never actually do those things.  If so, cruising would never be in our future and we'd be in debt up to our eyeballs.  

Believe me, there have been many times lately that we wanted to stay in bed, pull the covers over our heads and hit the "STOP" button for a little while.  But, that's not how we were raised.  We've got obligations and it's our responsibility to keep our end of the deal.  We don't buy anything without first knowing how we're gonna pay for it.  If things get tough, we sacrifice.

So no, we haven't been eating bon-bons and watching tv for the past two weeks.  We've both been busy working and keeping things together.  Things have been a blur.  I haven't posted because I've been busy with clients, open houses, and even had that closing I was hoping for.  Whew, that really helped relieve my stress ... for a month or two.  I've also taken a part-time job, which happens to be at the real estate company that I work for.  I'm answering the phone two days a week, and although it's not much money ... it's something.  Actually, I've been having this little job for a few months now but have been looking for another job (full or part-time) to make ends meet.  So, when I mentioned in my last post that I was looking for a job ... that was meant to be in addition to real estate and answering the phone twice a week.

Anyway, those two days of working for someone else really shortens the week and keeps me off the internet more often.  Mix in an unusually busy couple of weeks in real estate and I'm left with no extra time for writing.  You may not have noticed, but I also rarely get on the internet on the weekends.  I have a "dumb phone", which means the only way I'm gonna get on Facebook or write a post is to sit in front of the computer.  I avoid this on the weekends, as I think it's a good idea to "disconnect" on a regular basis.

Real estate has once again slowed down and I'm catching up on things.  I did get together with a couple of girlfriends last night for wine and appetizers ... so much needed!  Plus, I won a $25 gift card to the place we went (at a recent real estate function) ... so it didn't cost me anything.  Ken has started our lazy jack/sail pack project, and our lazy jack lines are now on our mast thanks to a friend climbing our mast.  We'd hoped to finish the project this weekend, but it looks like we may have a tropical storm headed our way ... just when we thought we'd avoided those this year.  It shouldn't be too bad ... just a PITA.

I tell ya, the government shutdown and chaos only emphasizes our desire to be free from being held hostage by the government's decisions.  I've never wanted to be dependent on a man (and never have .. I've always paid my own bills and split everything), and I don't wanna depend on the government.  When we no longer have so much "stuff", we'll get by at a slow and steady pace ... on a small income.  That will mean very little taxes, and less ties to the government's woes. We love our country and always will but ... the government needs a major over-haul.  No matter what side you're on, it's gotten ridiculous.  We may need more room on our boat for friends and family!

As the American Sailing Association said, "You can't shut down sailing!", and as one of my favorite authors, Mark Twain, said ...  "Loyalty to the country always.  Loyalty to the government when it deserves it".

Hasta luego ... until then.  Mid-Life Cruising!