For the long Matariki weekend, my wife imposed a no work policy on me. I think she could see I was working too much, and needed a break. For a workaholic, it’s great having a supportive partner that can help balance things out.
Anyway, she surprised me with a weekend getaway. We packed the bags on the Friday morning and headed for a small town 2 hours north of Wellington I had never even heard of. A coastal town that goes by the name of Riversdale. I thought we were heading to see Archie and the gang.
But no. Riversdale is a remote small town that provided the perfect getaway. There was a scenic beach. A park for the kids. And no internet connection! It was fantastic having the incidental digital ban.
What surprised me so much was that how slow the time went. Not because we were bored, but because we weren’t so busy.
On the Saturday afternoon, thinking it was around 4pm and time to get our 1 year old son up, I looked at the time and saw it was just 2pm.
Although I am very busy at the moment, in the next year or so, the above is what I want to achieve.
A slow down in our lives so that I can enjoy more time doing the things I love. Time with family, providing financial advice, maybe some volunteering and leisure activities.
To do this I plan to leave my full time corporate mid management office job.
Until then, the days will remain blurred and the time will remain fast.
In the blink of an eye my kids will be another year older. Time is going too fast.
I don’t want too many more blinks like that because they fly the coop before I know it. And that is the standard path for too many people.
As a general populace we spend too much money, so we need to work so much to fill our days and pay for our lives. 30 years later we look back and wonder where the time went.
We get stuck in the grind and the days become indistinguishable from one another.
That is a script I can see unfolding and one I am determined not to write for myself.
My out is savings. Money is the great leveller. Money allows us to buy our time back and rewrite the script.
It may not be a mainstream story, but it sure as hell beats it.
Thanks to my wife for reminding me again about the essence of quality time spent deliberately. I look forward to more of it in the coming years.
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