Surprisingly, very few people actually ask us this question. When we tell people our plans (which Pam always tell me not to overwhelm them with details, just say we want to go hiking) their initial response is along the lines of “Wow, that’s amazing. I wish we had the guts to do that.” Who knows what they say when they get away from us—“Can you believe those two idiots? They’ve got great jobs and make good money and they are just throwing it away.”
To that I can only ask another question—what is more important: money or happiness?
We are both in out early 50s. Pam’s son is in college and her daughter is on her own so they already know way more than we do. Maybe by the time we get done with this odyssey, we might have some knowledge they could use (but I doubt it, we’re pretty stupid—who walks when there are cars available?).
Both sets of our parents are hovering around that 80 mark. If you believe actuary tables (which we’re counting on), they have another 8 years of life expectancy. This is the best shot we have for a time window. Add in a general burn out feeling for work we both have and it becomes a no brainer.
As a controls engineer, I have pretty much given up every holiday for the last 30 years because the production facilities are shut down. The only reward that I’ve ever gotten is a string of second guesses for everything I’ve done while my boss is home watching fireworks with his family on the 4th of July. (I must throw in a big exception for Brad here). Every job I have ever had was stated 10-20% travel but that’s only the first month. It usually turns out to be 80+% and I didn’t get married to be away from my wife.
With Pam’s career in healthcare, despite the line of BS hospitals spew—it’s all about seeing more patients and generating more revenue. Patient care is not a concern as long as there is no grounds for malpractice. Hospitals are constantly charging more with any excuse they can think of (Obamacare was a field day of excuses for 7 years). While health care costs have gone up, Pam hasn’t seen more than a 2 or 3% pay raise in spite of having one of the highest patient ratings in her institution. Instead, they have taken away any continuing education benefits, come up with petty rules that she cannot have an office door, all the while trying to increase patient load every couple of months even though there is an agreed amount every year in the review process. The hospital executives who don’t have patient contact manage to get nice raises though. Pam’s concern is the quality of care for her patients—priority no 1, 2 & 3. There are major problems in the healthcare industry in this country that will only be taking steps backward for the foreseeable future.
I don’t know if what we are doing is unique—it’s definitely on the extreme ends of the bell curve. Our goal is to hike the Triple Crown as “seniors”. The schedule we have outlined calls for starting the AT on Pam’s 55th birthday and finishing it on my 55th (I have no control over the fact that I’ve got a cougar for a wife).
We want to show people that it’s never too late to get out and enjoy nature. Pam has been a diabetes specialist for about 20 of her 30+ years in healthcare. We are trying to show people that you can overcome the bad effects of diet through discipline and exercise. Granted, we are fortunate that we have the time and means to begin this endeavor. I’m tired of living in a society that loves objects and uses people. I want to love my wife and use the trails to gain joy and strength.