Tag Archives: freedom

Freedom Day and Doing It Now

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I celebrate two personal milestones on the same day.

Mastodon Post
Mastodon Post
I posted this on Mastodon today. My way of celebrating — and helping other people in dead end relationships to break free and move forward on their own.

Today is Freedom Day — the anniversary of my divorce decree — which I last wrote about back in 2017. That year, it went by without noticing it, but this year it was really on my mind for a variety of reasons.

Freedom Day this Year

One reason is that I’m really feeling the freedom that day gave me. I’ve been feeling it all along, but the past month or so I’ve been feeling it more. As I finish my Great Loop trip, and wind down my east coast boat travels, I’m been giving a lot of thought to my future and trying to answer the big question: What’s next?

After a lot of thought and weighing my multitude of options I think I’ve come up with a plan for the next five or more years of my life. (That’s something I’ll cover in another blog post.)

The point is, I have options because of the freedom I got on July 30, 2013, the day the legal document severing the partnership between me and my wasband was handed down. As far as the law was concerned I was done with him. I owned everything I owned and could make all of my own decisions without having to consult him or anyone else.

Freedom.

As I pointed out in a toot on Mastodon today, I’ve come so far since then. None of it would be possible without the freedom I achieved on this date in 2013 and the “do it now” attitude I’ve embraced to make up for lost time.

450 Days

The other milestone for today? It’s my 450th day aboard my boat, Do It Now. (Yes, it is taking me longer than average to finish the Great Loop, but that’s because I had to work last summer. I’m retired now and the end is near.)

I’m kind of tickled by the fact that I’ve spend more time living on my boat than living in my home since taking possession of the boat in early September 2022. Why? Well, I don’t think I’ve mentioned this elsewhere, but when I first started considering the purchase of this boat, I was very excited about it. I wanted to share my excitement with someone close to me so I shared it with certain family members. To my surprise, neither of them were supportive at all. In fact, I was told that buying the boat was a bad idea and a waste of money because I wouldn’t use it.

I wouldn’t use it?

Yeah. It was a rude awakening to realize that, after all these years, my family knew so little about what makes me tick.

I’m using the boat to the point of abusing it. I’ve put over 1,000 engine hours and nearly 8,000 nautical miles on it. I’ve used it to build skills for a part-time career as USCG-certificated boat captain.

But yeah. The lesson learned here is that it isn’t just my wasband who doesn’t get it.

Anyway, I’ve got another 15 or so days on board here on the Great Loop before I bring the boat back to the Seattle area for a month of cruising in the San Juan Islands and Desolation Sound. Then yes, I’ll put the boat away for the winter and take a break.

But you can bet your ass that I’ll have it back in the water next April.

Freedom Day Comes and Goes without Notice

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If I didn’t have it on my calendar, I’d likely forget its significance entirely.

Freedom Day
You can see how I missed it; it’s just a tiny note on the calendar.

It was Tuesday, July 30, 2013 that my very favorable divorce decision came through. Although I thought at the time that it would be the end of the bullshit my wasband was sending my way during our crazy divorce, it was just the beginning of a new chapter. Some people are seriously delusional and make all kinds of bad decisions based on their delusions. My wasband is a textbook case of this for the period starting around January 1, 2012 through (likely) today.

I called it Freedom Day because I was finally free of sad sack old man who was holding me back from moving forward with life. I didn’t realize how much I’d been held back until I was free to make my own decisions without having to compromise or, worse yet, wait for a risk-adverse “partner” to provide input. In the four years since, I not only bought the land for my new home — which I did the very next day — but built a custom home to my specifications on it, doing much of the interior work myself. I’ve tripled the amount of contract work I do each year, building my flying business far beyond I ever thought I could. I’ve met new people, made new friends, and traveled to new places.

In short: I’ve accomplished far more in the past four years than I had in the previous 10.

I’ve since settled into the kind of laid back and flexible lifestyle I always imagined having in my later years of life, free to do what I want with my time. I’m living life on my terms and if that isn’t freedom, what is?

Freedom Day is on my calendar as a recurring annual event. I put it there back in 2013 because I was so happy to finally have my poisonous relationship behind me. But unlike other people who hold significant dates close — often too close — to their hearts and minds, my Freedom Day is little more than that calendar reminder. This year it came and went without me even noticing it.

And I think that speaks volumes about where I am in my life today.

The “Million Dollar View”

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A friend reminds me about what I now take for granted.

Not sure if anyone is noticing, but I’m doing my best to blog every morning these days. That means keeping them short when I have other stuff to do. And believe me, I have a lot of other stuff to do.

Inbox
I’m ready to declare email bankruptcy and just clear all of this out.

After spending about an hour with my coffee and nightmarish email inbox, I looked up and realized that the sun had come up. I looked out my side windows — the ones facing the Wenatchee Valley and Columbia River — and was instantly rewarded with the amazing view I’ve come to take for granted.

My Amazing Morning View
Here’s what I see most mornings, right from my windows. Not too shabby, eh? Click the photo to view a much larger version where you can see the detail — including my “Lookout Point” bench in the bottom right.

I had a friend over for dinner last night. As the sun was setting, she remarked that I had a “million dollar view.” I looked out and agreed that it was beautiful. (I didn’t mention that it so often looked better.) I told her that it looked best in the morning in the golden hour light, when the low-lying sun cast deep shadows that bought out the texture of the mountains and hillsides. Like in the photo above. Same in the afternoon, when the cliffs across the river were illuminated just right. (Note to self: add photo of that.)

I’m a view person, as I’ve mentioned elsewhere in this blog. Looking out and seeing the world around me energizes me and puts me at peace — at the same time. Yes, I like tall pine trees and forests and canyons, but being surrounded by those things in tight quarters would stifle me, making me feel closed in and possibly smothered. Being able to look out and see for miles and miles makes me feel good about myself and my world.

The seasons are changing now; autumn is coming. The view changes with the seasons. Right now, the cherry orchard on the right has irrigation turned off and is being allowed to die; I suspect that when apple harvest is done, they’ll tear out those trees. Will they get new ones in before winter? Probably not; it’ll be a project I can watch in the spring. There’s still a tiny bit of snow up in the Enchantments, which are hidden in this photo by the low clouds on the left. The river bends as it makes its way into Wenatchee; in the evening, it reflects the changing color of the sky.

So much to see, right from my windows. Like an ever-changing series of paintings, a triptych with more than just three panels, separated by a few inches of wall between each view.

I cannot express how glad I am that my life took the turn it did back in 2012 when I became free to make all of my life decisions. That freedom made it possible to buy 10 acres of undeveloped land high on a cliffside shelf overlooking an amazingly beautiful valley. It made it possible for me to plan and build the home I wanted, a home that would meet my needs and bring this view into every room.

A “million dollar view”? That’s a bit of an exaggeration. But it’s priceless to me.