Apologies for the slight crudeness, but I like what someone told me recently, so here it is, “If you have one foot in yesterday and one foot in tomorrow, then you are pissing on today.”
I agree that the only place to live in today, and that is where my heart is most of the time. That said, I reflect on the past from time to time to of course learn from my past mistakes, and to also remember how I got where I am now. Right now, I am guilty of having too much of a foot in tomorrow. It is not that I am wishing away my days; I am enjoying each and every one of them. My over focus on tomorrow is on two fronts. The first is making the right decisions today around investing and saving for the tomorrow, and the second is the excitement that I have about the days ahead.
Let’s talk first about the boring stuff first, investing and saving in the future. I enjoy life, but I am very focused on saving. I want to be able to help the Birds with their college expenses, and I want to enjoy a nice retirement one day. I am often asking myself – Am I saving too much for the Birds’ college? Should I invest less and pay off my mortgage instead? Should I buy a second place in town to cut down my commute to work, or should I invest that money as well? Should I downsize my house that I have now to free up more money to invest?
People are extremely opinionated about the answers to these type of questions, and some certainly have better advise than other, but the truth is that no one can predict the future. We do not know where the markets are headed; we do not know if real estate is going to continue to go up or if we are again on a bubble. I can not predict what the Birds will need in order to fund their education. All that I can really do is make the best decisions that I possibly can (educated guessing), and then hope for the best from there.
On to the fun part of my thoughts towards tomorrow! The weather is warming up, and there are just two months of school left. Right now, I am sitting at TopGolf with the Birds enjoying a beautiful Sunday. I am looking forward to many days like this ahead. I love this time of year. It is time to start planning our summer vacation. We are thinking about either California or Yellowstone, or both. It is time for weekend trip’s to my sister’s house, afternoon’s with my brother and the kids at the park.
I look forward to the evening routine with the Birds that naturally sets in during the summer days. I arrive home from work, and they are out the door upon the sound of the garage door opening. Little Chirp scurries outside with his soccer ball, and Brainy Bird hops on his scooter over to the neighbor’s basketball hoop. Both return hungry and sweaty. They hit the showers while I start the dinner. We finish the evening on the back porch playing board games and dominoes. It is a routine that I never tire of.
The summer is followed by the excitement of school starting and of course the kick off our beloved football season. The coolness of fall and the holidays with lots of time with family and friends. I am looking forward to every minute of the days ahead.