The Only Constant is Change

I didn’t realize how much I still thought like a business analyst until I heard myself tell a friend that the bathroom was functional and the work that was needed was nice to have and cosmetic.

I’ve spent the majority of the last 20 years working on projects. Prioritizing, defining, and testing. Even though I retired last December and am no longer involved in IT-related projects, Andy and I have been immersed in home improvement and maintenance projects for the last 18 months.

We had to identify which projects we needed to work on and which ones we wanted to work on. We had to define how we wanted the kitchen, garage, fence, bedrooms, and other areas to look. We had to determine the costs and figure the budget.

I started a project plan for the house while I was still working and tweaked it as we went. Beginning this January, I added our blog to the mix. Since the first of the year, we have gotten a lot done. By September, we were ready for our Phase 2 projects.

These were the changes we wanted to make that were lower on our priority list. They were also the small finishing tasks from another project. For example, the kitchen was finished in early August 2016. We waited to paint the trim around the window until the new windows were installed. Well, the windows were installed in mid-August and the trim is still not painted. It has been filled, sanded and primed, but not finished. It is a Day 2 item. Not high enough on the radar to finish.

As we were preparing to get some of these items completed, our plans changed.

Andy has not been the happiest camper in his job for the last couple of years. He thought he could stick it out for another 2 years and retire at age 62. At that time, we anticipated we would take off in our RV for several months at a time and travel the country. We also planned to have the house paid off when he left work.

Andy turned 60 in September and said goodbye to the VA hospital. Earlier this month, he accepted a position with a traveling nurse agency. We will be leaving our home next week and hitting the road for his first assignment. This will allow us to travel earlier than we anticipated and still have the needed income.

If he had continued to work at the VA, my plan this fall was to start looking for a full-time job in the Kansas City area. I wanted to take this year off. And I did, except for the part-time job I had over the summer. I will have to come up with a new plan for myself. 🙂

For the last several weeks, we’ve been getting the house ready for our departure. We had several projects that had to be done first, and those are now completed. We have just a few things left to do around the house. Sully, our name for our Grand Design Solitude, has been undergoing a few changes as we get ready to leave. In addition to the desk installed in our post RV Renovation – Slide Out Desk, we are making it ready to live in by removing the ‘weekend at the lake’ items and replacing them with stuff we will use daily.

The blog content will tell of our travels, RV modifications, and tips. We are looking forward to this new chapter in our lives and hope that you will join us as we live life on the road.