Life...or a lack thereof.

[chochiyo_sama]

We have reached midquarter of 3rd quarter.  This means that I have 1.5 quarters left to go until summer vacation. 

I am tired and ready for summer vacation NOW.  Ha ha.  I will miss the kids terribly, as I always do, but I need some down time.  I seem to be working my ass off--on SCHOOL STUFF--all the time.  Enough already.  I need some balance.  But I can't seem to have balance and adequate preparedness and confidence at school at the same time.

I have been thinking about retirement a lot lately.  A LOT.  I've been trying to figure out a way that I can retire as soon as I can.  The only draw back as far as I can see is insurance, which is outrageously expensive.  And, at my age, I need my insurance. 

I think about moving in with my mom, whose house is paid for, and how much that would save me.  Even if I moved in with her before I actually retired.  It would be a long drive every day, but Robin drives farther--all the way from Albert Lea.  Mine would be a quick-n-easy drive--North on I-35 then East on Hwy 14.  Bam.  No problems.  If the weather was truly horrific, I could always stay at the Motel 6 which is extremely close to the school--only about 4 blocks away.  This would be what I'd do for Prom and ROC Jam also.

There are two difficulties with this scenario--one is, mom's house is full of MOM'S stuff.  What would I do with all MY stuff?  Truthfully, there isn't anything that I would be too upset about getting rid of in the furniture line.  I'd want to keep my desks (all three of them) and my bookshelves.  The bookshelves are really nothing special, but I need them to house my books and stuff.

My dolls and a lot of my dolls' accessories I would want to keep.  I have pared them down a lot, and I would be willing to pare them down yet again.  And of course there is all my fabric.  I have so much fabric...mountains of fabric.  And I don't want to part with any of it.  In my retirement, I would like to sew and sell doll clothes on etsy or ebay or even in a consignment shop somewhere.  Or even just for fun.  (And for my own dolls, of course.)

There are only a few of my dishes that I care about keeping.  I don't care about any of the dining room furniture.  Don't care about the living room furniture.  I'd like to get a couple of newer, nicer dressers, and give my antique one from my great grandfather to my niece Cora--it sort of matches her bed  (the antique bed which I gave her).
 

Now, the second and HUGE problem is my three cats.  Mom doesn't want any cats.  (She used to have five--though none of them were really hers, they were the last vestige of our childhood pets).  She doesn't want the hair and the mess and the worry about who will take care of them if she goes away.

Well, I must have my cats.  They are my babies.  And I don't like the idea of locking them up in a single room or a handful of rooms in the basement.  Half the joy of having a cat is being able to sit in the recliner with a fuzzy cat in your lap, purring as you gently stroke its fur. 

I know they'd need to be declawed.  They've pretty much destroyed my couch and chair and the upholstered storage/foot stool thingy.  They are young, so they are rambunctious.  They have settled down quite a bit already, but they still occasionally fly around the house like banshees.  

It's probably a pipe dream to even consider this--but something in my life has to change.  I need to get out of West Concord which is KILLING me.  Ellendale is not much better, but at least I'd be living in a decent house.  I'd be able to spend time with my niece and nephew who are still pretty little.

I would have my choice of Albert Lea, Owatonna, or Rochester for activities.  I can go anywhere I want.

It would be beneficial to both me and my mom.  She has been having a lot of trouble with loneliness.  She wants me to come home as often as I can anyhow.  I could walk away from my house.  Fuck it.  I made tons of improvements on it.  They can have it back much better than when I bought it. 

Then, I could pay halfsies on my mom's bills related to the house. 

I'd probably free up enough money to be able to buy a new car by the time I retire.  My current car is good, but the next one will probably last me till I die unless I live to a freakishly old age--which I highly doubt I will.  I just hope I get to live to be retired for at least 15-20 years. 

Comments

How serious are you?

[the_godiva]

How seriously have you considered this? Enough to discuss it with your Mom?

Think carefully back to when you used to live with your Mom 24/7 and your lives now. Would you drive each other crazy within a week?

I know if I could retire tomorrow by moving in with my parents, I wouldn't do it. I'd stick it out the three years. First, I couldn't live my life in one room and that's all I'd have in their house. and they'd drive me crazy. Sometimes I can take the few hours I spend with them on the weekend. My Mom screaming about her TV shows, "If you're going to talk I'll put it on pause because I'm missing all of the dialogue". Yeah, like Everybody Loves Raymond or Scrubs might hold the key to world peace.

I know my dog and their dog would love the arrangement. They'd love nothing better than for us to all live together all of the time. Except my dog would also want to come home to his territory and inspect his yard and sleep in his bed, which he allows me to share with him.

We don't share the same tastes either. In fact, I am the odd one in my family. The only Democrat, the only one that has actual real art displayed in the house. Of course I do have furniture pieces I would not want to give up.

If you do have this conversation, you need to include what happens to you if your Mom should die. Would you continue to live in the house, would i be sold and the money split between you and your siblings. Then you'd be homeless but would at least have a pittance to buy a cardboard box to live in. And you'd have to make sure the locusts didn't descend on the house snatching up your stuff thinking it was your Mom's. As lonely as your Mom is, as miserable as you may be, think seriously about this. Once you retire there is no going back. You don't want to end up being a greeter at Walmart for the rest of your life because you can't live on your retirement and pay the rent in your studio apartment after your siblings have sold your Mom's house out from under you.

I can't help it. I always jump to the worst case scenario.