Retirement planning, hoeing rows and the root of all kinds of evil
Posted By RichC on May 27, 2017
We’re not their yet … but we’ve been doing a little more thinking about retirement and how many more years of work it is going to be at a comfortable level when we no long punch the proverbial time clock. Brenda and I are not in harmony 
quite yet, as one of us would prefer freedom and less income and the other working longer and having more financial freedom. I’m sure we are not alone in our planning? Without a doubt the next few years will have us honing in on a number and finding common ground. I’m sure when that light goes off, we’ll both know it … and hopefully will be ready.
The older we get, the more I realize our lives are like a book … at least a great book at this point. We turn through the pages and move chapter by chapter through the big events. The last couple of chapters have been more challenging as we emptied the nest, buried all four parents and have had to finalize their affairs. My brother and I finished it with our dad’s last year and Brenda is doing it with her sisters now. When they finalize everything in June, the parent chapter will be finished.
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. — 1 Timothy 6:10
As will many families, the chapter has not been storybook. It hasn’t always easy with strong opinions and personalities. From dividing heirlooms, to agreeing on a parent’s care, to monitoring expenses … there is frustration particularly when it comes to the root of all kinds of evil" … money. That said, I would like to believe Chaucer was right when he said, "As tyme hem hurt, a tyme doth hem cure." (deciphering Old English: "Time heals all wounds"). The only positive is that knowing this is more the normal than the exception and it can be a "tough row to hoe" … but in doing so, something good will surely grow in the tilled soil once again.
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