In the Beginning

When we started down the path of marriage one of our big conversations was work-life balance. I was about to graduate college and Colin was well on his way in his career. Colin and I first, we met in a chat room but we really didn’t know each other. We had the same friend groups, but most of us were all virtual friends that would meet up a few times a year. And somehow, I met Colin connected online and our friendship bloomed. We spent hours upon hours talking on the phone and getting to know each other. We never dated online but I was truly in love with him. In a terrible fight I had with my in-person boyfriend he yelled “Why don’t you apply to College out by the guy you really love.” And so I did…. Colin and I officially started dating about a week after I moved to Virginia and we haven’t stopped.

Colin’s dad died at 56 and we knew when we started talking marriage we did not want to live a life that Colin grew up with. Colin wanted to travel often, from day trips to month long excursions. His dad worked an amazing career but never got the chance to enjoy the fruits of his labor. In addition, Colin didn’t feel like he had a good relationship with his dad and he didn’t want that for his children.

We made a choice that we’d work enough to live a very comfortable life, save for retirement but most importantly, enjoy life. It is more important for us to have an amazing vacation every year than it is to save rigorously and hope to enjoy it years to come. Please hear me out, our retirement is solid and we live very well but we also don’t live outside our means. We don’t do debt and live a cash flow positive lifestyle.

My hope and dreams for these book clubs and blog posts are to inspire others and start a change in how we see our relationships.