It is strange to me that there are places where you don’t get to experience the seasons. Areas in the south or tropical climates spring to mind first. I am always hearing of the constant 70 degree temperatures in San Diego. How can people live like that?!
I need the change of season like I need sleep or periodic breaks from work in the form of time off. When Fall kicks in it is like a much needed break and a reset from what feels like the reckless pace of Summer. maybe its the cooler weather and the rain that does it for me, we sure get enough rain here. Or maybe it’s the light. We just crossed the Fall equinox and right now we are loosing 2 minutes of sun per day, that an hour a month. Probably it’s both.
Fall feels like a time to retract into the house, pull away from the constant outings and take more time to focus on family and self care.
A few weeks ago we lit our first fire in the wood stove. The house promptly got WAY to hot and we ended up opening the windows. It was still a sign that we are moving into cooler months and a time for cozy indoor activities.
Fall is also a time of harvest, some great and some small.
Learning what grows on our property and what we can produce in abundance is still something that we are working through. This year we harvested a couple of dozen winter squash that will feed us for the month of October and November if we can store them properly. On the other side of the equation we harvested 3 almonds, and 1 was bad. That tree was only planted this year though.
Many other things are happening outside on the homestead as we move out of summer. Tomatoes are torn out and composted, strawberry runners will be potted and the chickens tend to make more mud than ever in the rainy months. The dogs have to start being wiped down with an old towel after every ball chasing session or they leave tracks all over the carpet. We are putting to bed our garden beds for the year and also looking at what trees we may want to replant from the nursery.
This year Fall is also a time of settling into some new routines.
I was inspired around the beginning of July to exercise more regularly. I have always been fairly athletic and I am never over weight but I have always wanted to be stronger. For most of my life pretty much no matter what I do I stay 165 pounds. When I exercise I transitioned some fat into muscle but the bottom line number doesn’t change. I’m ok with that as I am 6 feet tall and that is a pretty healthy weight for me but I have always felt on the wimpy side, that might just be my our self esteem sneaking through.
In July, after I returned from a 6 week sabbatical, I started going to the gym a few days a week. Waking up early for work is tough but waking up a half hour earlier than normal really doesn’t seem to affect me. I used that time to get my lift on. Then came our rediscover of FIRE and a desire to save money. I let my gym punch card run out (yes I found a gym that offers a punch card) and I started working out at home. I feel great now and like I am starting to make some real gains. 9 weeks of at least 3 day a week work outs! It’s a new record for me.
I have reinvested the savings from the gym into more and better equipment for our home gym. The point is not to spend everything I am saving but I have been able to purchase a set of adjustable dumbbells on Craigslist and install a pull up bar in the back yard. Ms. Evening Sun has joined me in the working out regularly and we are both reaping the benefits.
This year will also forever be known as the year we officially kicked off our FIRE journey. I had discovered MMM quite a long time ago but had not been able to bring myself around to his ideas. That is not until I had spent 10 years doing the day to day slog at work. When looking for a way out of the rat race I rediscovered early retirement as a possibility. First Dave Ramsey, Choose FI Podcast and then right back to MMM ten years later.
I brought the idea up to Ms. Evening Sun who was originally the one to discover MMM. We started having conversations and making changes in how we lived. The best part is how surprised the misses is by how famous MMM has become.
Through the last couple of months we have discovered that we make enough to pursue early retirement. Not only that but we have made some pretty good decisions over the years that have set us up well to get started. Our house is reasonable and not a hug burden on us financially. We have two older paid for cars that we intend to drive into the ground. And we fix things around the house ourselves as they come up.
It will not be a short trip to retirement but I feel like we are better after only a couple of months. August saw us saving over 38% of my take home pay. If I were to add in my bonuses and stock grants for the year we will be over 50% into savings.
Fall is a time of change and a time of reevaluating what really matters to us. It is always a great time to be in the PN and to love the rain.
Mr. Evening Sun