Ready for a Change

Rod had always planned to retire early. For two decades, we tracked our financial affairs with the goal of retiring as soon as the kids were through college. Ambitious, yes. In fact, too ambitious. We didn’t make it.

But we were ready for a change. We loved the first 25 years of marriage, have two great sons, met a zillion great people through Scouting, and enjoyed a long career at Tektronix. Wonderful experiences, but we were ready for something new.

Fran had a long interest in the world, including Japanese study and a degree in International Affairs. Rod had traveled on business to most of Europe, as well as India and Japan. Our sons had traveled to Germany, Korea, Holland and Italy. But we really had never spent time traveling like we wanted to. Rod has many places that he has been, but never really experienced. Business travel is mostly business.

So we decided to pretend to be retired for a year and travel. We couldn’t retire forever, but that doesn’t matter. Both of our sons would soon be married, and the college bills are paid. We had lived for the future for most of our lives, and it was time to just live for the present. You never know how long your health will last, and if you don’t seize opportunities they may pass you by.

So, we were on our way!