Time... and age. I confess that I find myself in a quandry. I turn 60 in nine months and 1 day. I am ELIGIBLE to selling my interest in the lawfirm to the other partners, and they have to buy it if I do... I could continue to work in some capacity TBD, yet for all intents and purposes, selling my shares will mean that I have no further control over my career, the direction of the firm, or to a large degree, my income. The buyout will be significant, and between what it will provide and what I have saved/invested, Mrs. RabbiKnife and I would certainly be able to live a comfortable if not extravagant lifestyle, but I find myself in a quandry. Each year I work afterwards increases my net worth by a good bit, gets me another year closer to drawing Social Security, etc. But I must say, this isn't fun any longer. The stress is ridiculous, and I'm physically, emotionally, and mentally tired. I'm about at the point that simplicity is great gain. The only question is whether the amount saved and the amount from the buyout will be sufficient. First world problem, right? Just whining this morning. Carry on.
You know if you ever sell and Howard has to take out personal loans to buy your share, well then Chuck, we have plenty of room over here in Scotland for the itinerant traveler.
A key question to ask is what sort of retirement you could enjoy if you did sell up and take a big step back, and whether that's an acceptable lifestyle for you. I know it sounds obvious but it's remarkably easy to get stuck in a rut of working hard to fund the things you only need to feel like working has a purpose. A friend of mine from my banking days was in just such a rut, and never saw a way out because if he quit the job he hated he couldn't fund the lavish lifestyle he enjoyed as a way of making it up to himself. Sometimes I miss the money I made in banking but really don't miss the stress or the hours.
Many of you younger guys seem to benefit from a professionally guided physical regimen designed to lessen the affects of stress, increase energy and address any underlying potential health issues. A new lease on life - the often repeated phrase - and something that retirement might not actually produce.
Eh, as it is, I'm really really really fed up with with people, and Christians. I think disdain might be the better word.
It won't, and it doesn't, and I know that and expected as much. It's the quality of the response one-to-one that's, on the whole, more upsetting. It's not like I've even gone "full out", but there are the assumptions, the suspicions, the "I know better", then "why didn't you try", and all the rest. The worst, is the magical hand waving that is, "Oh, no, we understand it's a terrible struggle, but you're responsible; we don't mean people like you". But yes they do, because of those aforementioned assumptions, suspicions, etc. To even talk about me is almost impossible. It's like if I were depressed and was told not to take SSRIs but instead, to run around for 5 minutes longer each day and meditate on God's word because Jesus is risen. This must be said out of love, of course, because we wouldn't want to downplay the good news of the Gospel message. The truth is, people weren't created to be depressed; just look at Genesis 1 and 2. Don't do the meds, just trust God and maybe go to therapy for a bit longer. After all, people often grow out of their depression. Do you know what it is? It's exactly what I expected it to be from the people I expected it to come from. It's exactly the kind of so-called Christian love that makes enemies out of friends. And I'm getting really tired of it because for the one or two Christians I meet who aren't complete assholes, there are 8 or 9 who play epistemic sceptic whatabout-Iknowbetter-ism. You know in 1984 when Winston is talking to Julia about hating purity and goodness and virtue, but meaning those values by the party and not actually the things in themselves? That's the stain I'm starting to see.
Thinking you might find yourself hedged in by the sanctity of your own family. Church members, more often than not, percieve a threat to the established faith. In reality, imo, it should not be considered anyone's business outside the family once rooted in NT guidelines. Again, a medical issue, and one not at all covered in the NT, and not same-sex. After these clear considerations, the moral implications should rest with you and your family.
Immediate family is doing well, and the wife and I are probably in the best place we've ever been given the counselling and therapy. It's the extended family that are unbelievable. The in-laws recently found out, and with no insight to our lives (since they never call or visit) they've decided we're going to be unhappy with our decision, and we aren't "good Christian soldiers" and so on. But I still agree. It's medical, it's amoral and we're firmly in the "trying to live lives that honor God as much as we're able". I shake my head.
I gave up on family decades ago. Now, family start at the same point as everyone else. DNA has no inherent value vis a vis relationships.
It often feels like "the church" is afraid of anything that doesn't fit the approved narrative, whatever that means for any given church. It's disappointing when discussion is sidelined or shut down because it veers away from what people want to think. It's frustrating enough when it's a discussion that's essentially theoretical for the people involved, I can only imagine how disheartening it must be when it relates to something very specific and very personal. Sometimes I wonder how many Christians are more like Crowleyists, based on the comments in my signature. It's great to talk a good game about Scripture but if you're not following it when it hurts you're not following it at all.
A good number of Christians, I would expect. Listen, only the manliest of men would be comfortable with D cups. That is someone secure in their masculinity. You know, because it's not porn addiction, substance abuse, cheating, alcoholism, physical abuse, gambling, laziness, or any of the other accept 'tsk tsk' sins.
wife and I are actively working on what “scaled back” looks like. Multiple raised bed vegetable garden area is already prepped for planting in about six weeks