Almost lost it!

We swore to each other that when we retired we would finally take the time to smell the roses and enjoy ourselves; enjoy just being together, as we've done since we first met.

Our plan was to continue to renovate the house, to enable us to downsize into something on a smaller block than we have now (1001 sq m!). It's too much, and we both no longer want to be tied to a constant round of gardening, maintenance, repairs on a house of 4x2, two-storey, formal and casual dining, family room, parents' lounge, formal lounge, games room/study/theatre room ... well, you get the picture.

So we went licketty-split into it. I finished repainting the interior, patched and repaired cracks, replaced taps and bathroom features, repainted bathroom cabinets ... we arranged for sparkies and plumbers, handymen and chippies; Dearly Beloved gardened her arse off; we sorted cupboards, filing cabinets, clothes ... you name it.

Then we got real estate agents in for appraisals and valuations, and started looking at possible houses. "This one's fabulous, but in a crap area!"; "This one's great but needs work and we don't want that"; "I'd give a left knacker for this one, but it's simply $100k more than we can hope to have"; "If you want this one, put in an offer because the owners are putting it out to lease this week unless there is an offer"; "This one's been repainted to sell by a left-handed, vision-deficient Parkinson's sufferer ... you'd have to repaint the entire house before you even started!"

And then today the penny dropped. We're doing everything we said we wouldn't do! We're putting ourselves under huge amounts of stress when we don't have to. There is no race to move. If it takes six months or nine months or a year ... who cares? We have the time. We can do something simple each day if we feel like it. If not, we can simply say "Screw it" and get on the bike and go away for a weekend or a week or whatever -- we only have to please ourselves.

We were both so happy with that realisation that I cracked a bottle of Ciao Bella prosecco tonight and we made a toast to us!

Now, let me see ... weekend accommodation in Albany ... or Geraldton ... or Kalgoorlie ...