It has Finally Come to Fruition!

                 Come Celebrate with Us!!!! 

   After years of dreaming and planning, buckling down and paying off debt, we have finally been able to do it.  Jeff talked to his boss got the thumbs up from them and we filed the paperwork to get the ball rolling with Social Security.  Yes, Jeff is going to semi retire!  He will start part time at work on Monday! 😁

   I cannot even explain how happy this makes both him and I.  I can see a huge weight has been lifted off of him.  He has worked hard for 50 years and yes, he deserves to be able to relax a bit, pursue some hobbies and spend more time with our kids, grandkids and our extended family, along with our friends.

   In typical Jeff fashion, he has already made a list of things he wants to accomplish here at home before Spring hits.  At the top of that list is clearing out the garage and making that into a nice woodworking workshop.  He plans to build outdoor benches and chairs from wood pallets and sell them.  He would build them and I would paint them.  He has built them for us and for our kids who live near us and everyone who sees them comments on them.  I do think they would sell well.

   Of course I am beyond thrilled that I will have my best friend home with me more often.  To be perfectly honest, I desperately need help with keeping up on the house and garden (when it is gardening season) and I will need help with canning in the upcoming canning season.  I also really miss him when he is gone at work.  Yes, I also enjoy and need some "me time", and I will still get that.  

   We have already started a list of things we want to get accomplished, places we want to explore, and people that we want to go and visit.  I see many more camping trips, picnics, going to visit Josh, Lauren and the 2 youngest grands, spending time watching the 2 oldest grandsons playing baseball in the Spring, G-pa and Steven time during the Summer when Steven is here once a week, more grandson sleepovers,  and going to spend time with my parents and brother at the lake.  We are looking forward to more time spent BBQing and then spending Summer days having lunch and or dinner out on our screened in porch.  We will also be able to go for boat rides up the St. Joe River with Chris, and I think hubby might enjoy doing a ride along with him one day or evening at work. 

   So yes, we are continuing to buckle down financially and will be trying to live on just Jeff's part time work or his Social Security checks alone.  I know we can do it.  We have run the numbers and, with having all but one debt (which we will be paying off within 4 months) gone, it is possible to do this.  Our frugal ways have served and will continue to serve us well into retirement.  Oh I am so happy and so is Jeff!