Uh, it's been more like 7 years!
If you weren't interested in reading our last post about woodworking on Nirvana, and you don't visit our Facebook page, you may not know that things are gettin' real for us lately. About a month ago we gave our landlord notice that we'll be vacating our condo mid-May .. that's next weekend!
Our landlord isn't the only person we've given notice to. Ken has several clients that he's been working with for over a decade, and he's given them notice that he's not taking any more work. Luckily, I don't have to really "give notice" to my real estate clients. My current clients don't need to know, and I'll bring them to the closing table. My prior clients .. well, they'll figure it out.
This was one of the toughest moves for Ken .. giving up clients and turning down work makes things real! Ken's been in the construction business for about 25 years, and closing this chapter has not been easy ... for him or his clients. Although Ken's been preparing them for over a year and told each of them recently that these jobs for them were going to be his last ... they just don't believe it. Just this week two of Ken's clients called him to do "one more" job. When Ken said he wasn't interested, they tried to talk him into "just having a look" and "just supervising". When Ken wouldn't give in, one of them had said, "You're really doin' that boat thing?" Yes, we really are!
We've been working on Nirvana off & on for over 7 years, and the only way to get cruising later this year is to stop working (for money at least) and focus on boat projects. I will put my real estate license into "inactive" when it renews the end of the year, and Ken will do the same with his contractor license.
This was one of the toughest moves for Ken .. giving up clients and turning down work makes things real! Ken's been in the construction business for about 25 years, and closing this chapter has not been easy ... for him or his clients. Although Ken's been preparing them for over a year and told each of them recently that these jobs for them were going to be his last ... they just don't believe it. Just this week two of Ken's clients called him to do "one more" job. When Ken said he wasn't interested, they tried to talk him into "just having a look" and "just supervising". When Ken wouldn't give in, one of them had said, "You're really doin' that boat thing?" Yes, we really are!
We've been working on Nirvana off & on for over 7 years, and the only way to get cruising later this year is to stop working (for money at least) and focus on boat projects. I will put my real estate license into "inactive" when it renews the end of the year, and Ken will do the same with his contractor license.
We've been busy downsizing yet again and there's still lots to do. We thought we'd be further along on Nirvana by now, but we were determined to stick with our plan and move out of the condo. We're keeping our storage shed for a couple more months to store our "boat stuff" and we'll be roughing it on Nirvana in the meantime. We don't wanna clutter up the boat while living on it & doing interior projects. It won't be easy living on Nirvana with very little on board, but we'll have shore power and we've ordered a few things this week to make life more comfortable.
If only we had a place for just a few more months to escape .. you know, a place with a swimming pool that's walking distance to the beach where we can take a real shower or sleep in a real bed every now & then. Done!
It's funny how things just fall into place sometimes. We'll be living part-time on Nirvana and part-time in a beach apartment that we're renting with another family .. our own family in fact. We're really excited about this, and it's already taken a ton of weight off of our shoulders.
I have so much more to share about our downsizing, our new beach apartment & how fate just seemed to step in, and our thoughts on finally getting to this time in our lives. It's so surreal!
We have one week from today to move out of the condo so that I can clean it next Friday and turn over the keys. Once things settle down I'll catch up on all the details. I'll admit, we're a bit anxious with such big life changes, but we're also really excited!
Hasta luego .. until then. Mid-Life Cruising!
It's funny how things just fall into place sometimes. We'll be living part-time on Nirvana and part-time in a beach apartment that we're renting with another family .. our own family in fact. We're really excited about this, and it's already taken a ton of weight off of our shoulders.
I have so much more to share about our downsizing, our new beach apartment & how fate just seemed to step in, and our thoughts on finally getting to this time in our lives. It's so surreal!
We have one week from today to move out of the condo so that I can clean it next Friday and turn over the keys. Once things settle down I'll catch up on all the details. I'll admit, we're a bit anxious with such big life changes, but we're also really excited!
Hasta luego .. until then. Mid-Life Cruising!
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8 comments:
Wow - huge and exciting changes! Things are really starting to get real for you guys :-)
"but we're also really excited!". Nope. This is just the build up. Just wait until you cast off for good. Then you will be "really excited". And scared sheite-less. That feeling is priceless. Make sure you record that day. Ken
So excited for you! Great that the beach apartment worked out at the right time too. Good luck with your move. Can't wait to hear more! After all, I've been following you every step of the way on your journey and am so thrilled for your dreams to finally see fruition!
One step closer! So if you are moving aboard part time and you won't be working for money, why not just go now? Is the boat safe? I mean, you can do boat projects literally anywhere, albeit not as conveniently sometimes. Congratulations! It's hard to say no to making more money. We know just how hard that is.
That's awesome! Some serious positive changes happening for y'all. How exciting. Can't wait to hear more.
Mike
I used to take a bath every night and a shower every morning. On the boat we don't even remember the last time we showered and don't really care. It's probably healthier.
Thanks everyone for the kind words! Ken .. I'm sure we will indeed be "scared shitless" when we leave the dock for good! It's hard to wrap our heads around it!
Emily .. you have no idea how much I appreciate your comments over the years. You have been following along for many years now, and your kind words are always uplifting. I hope we get to meet someday!
Laura .. I have a feeling we wont' be worried about showering daily either .. and I especially won't be washing my long hair as often! "It's probably healthier" .. I'll go with that! LOL!
LittleCunningPlan .. we're trying to find a local rigger to inspect our rigging (never had a survey), replace what's needed, then put the sails back on. Sooo .. not sure it's safe but hoping so! We've been pulled in all sorts of directions the past decade, so the thought of a beach retreat and a bit of relaxation is much needed! We plan to be in the Bahamas for Christmas!
So happy for the two of you. All that hard work and planning is finally happening.
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