Battling the Blues with Bali

Since coming back from Spain this past fall I have not written a blog post. That is unusual for me. I like writing, but finding time this winter has been difficult. Well, if I am to be honest with myself, I have time to write – all I need to do is turn the latest Netflix series off. What I cannot seem to find is the mood to write. I need to be in the mood. Hmmmm. Reminds me of something…

Anyway, I remember someone telling me that even if you are in a bad mood, if you force yourself to smile, your mood will change. So, I decided maybe if I just start writing, even though I don’t feel like it, my mood will change. Here’s to hoping.

I have been thinking about some of my earlier posts, when I first started this blog in 2017, and about how convinced I was my two-star retirement would be something to write about. Don’t get me wrong, it has been in many ways. I have done some amazing travel, visiting many parts of Mexico, living on a small island in the Caribbean, touring South Africa, Egypt, Spain, and Portugal. I have learned to play pickleball, published a book, and have tasted a lot of great wine.

I have also experienced many things I did not plan on, like the isolation of Covid, separation from my husband, and inflation. All these things have taken their toll on me and at times I have felt so sad I can hardly bear it. Retirement is supposed to be the reward at the end of our lifetime of hard work, right? A reward for having sacrificed pleasure in the now to save money for the future. Retirement is your time to travel, or delve into hobbies, and to spend more time with your family and friends. Or is it?

Retirement doesn’t always work out that way. Often, by the time we retire our kids are older and busy with their own lives and kids, and their time for us is limited. Or our parents need our care, so we have no time for ourselves either. I had a friend visit me last week and she is turning 65 this year. I asked her what she was planning on doing when she retires and she answered, “I plan on getting a job.” I get it. The worst part of retirement for some is boredom. For others, the very thought of retirement is depressing and scary because they have allowed themselves to be defined by their children or career, so they just keep working. 

I cannot say I have lived a very traditional career life, nor that I share most people’s definition of retirement. For me, retirement means I am retired from having to work when someone else wants me to, and I am retired from only being able to travel a few weeks a year. So, throughout my adult life I have taken mini retirements. I took my first job at age 14 and worked until I was 23. Then I retired, stayed home, and had babies. Then at age 33 I started a business, worked like a demon, saved a shitload of money, and then retired again and went to university at 42. Then after a trip around the world I went back to work again for two years, then retired again and did another trip around the world. Then I went back to work, did another trip around the world, retired...you get the picture. I am now 60 and after a Covid induced retirement I am once again starting a new business.

This time though, for the first time, I am scared.

I am generally not a scaredy cat, in fact, I have been told by more than a few people that I am the bravest person they know. But I feel like I am losing my nerve because I wonder how long my body can keep up with my brain. And how long will my wallet keep up with inflation.

Hmmmm. Writing is not improving my mood. Better change topics…

Whenever I feel down I do one of two things: I start cooking...weird, since when I am sad I have a hard time eating, or I start planning my next trip. Well, this week has been gray and cold, and I am in a flare so I am in pain and pain makes it so I do not sleep well. Making matters worse, a lack of sleep reduces my capacity to handle pain and that contributes to me being down. 

So this week I bought a flight to Bali using points I collected during my renovation this year. It is a lay flat first class seat all the way, and it only cost $89.00 plus 87.5K Aeroplan points.

This was no easy task and I have to give thanks to my brother the Biz Class Bum who helped me learn the tricks of the points game. (More on that another day.) 

I will spend two months in Bali where it will cost me well under a $1000/month in rent, while collecting twice that in rent for my house here. I also used my travel club weeks (read about that here) to book two months at a resort on the coast of Oregon for Novemeber and December so I can go hiking and mushroom hunting. The lovely one bedroom unit on the ocean will set me back only $1600/month – still well below what I can rent my house out for. This is the part of my two-star retirement that is working well. I basically travel all winter and it costs me nothing.

Now THAT makes me feel better!