What would you do?

[mugsbigsis]

Originally Posted by whatnext

i have this strange desire to live in a small stone cottage on my daughter-in-law's family's estate in Provence, wander the hills with a big walking stick, speak to no one, drink lots of the estate wine and be spoken of as "that mad American woman who lives in the hills" by the people of St. Remy.

I love this! I can see you there now! :O)

I was telling my neighbor about this thread and she said, "what about the dogs you wanted?" HA! That's yet another dream of mine. . . So many people don't want to adopt a dog that is older because it doesn't have long to live. I can understand this, so I would love to have an acreage where I could have a canine home for seniors. They could run around (or lay around) in the sun and feel loved until their last days. Gary could buy a plane and putter around (hummmm, he might not like that word as a fighter pilot). . . he could "fly" around till his heart's content and the dogs and I would be there to greet him at the end of the day.

This could go on and on if they money isn't going to run out.

[mugsbigsis]

Originally Posted by donitab

Kelly, I LOVE Santa Fe - it is less than a 5 hour drive from my house, so it makes a wonderful long weekend retreat. A wonderful place for a photowalk (we should all plan to meet there one day for that). You can find the most unique jewelry and artwork and there is a wonderful Rubber Stamp Store that sells great southwestern stamps. And on the square is a deli that sells green chili croissants that are horribly expensive, but once you eat one, you gladly pay through the teeth for another one - you gotta' go!

OMGosh between you and Carol, Katrina and Teri A I may have to schedule a "photo hop!" :O)

[Steph]

I'm loving how many people are actually already in the position that the rest of us are reaching for. That's just cool.

And I love the question about what's holding us back. Good, good stuff to think about!

The key it seems is that the lack of worry about money will not buy us things, but will rather bring us joy in the simplicity of life. And this just gives me warm fuzzies.

[Chris]

Originally Posted by connieg

Now don't laugh, but first thing I would do is find a good dentist. I would love to be able to give up my hidden talent of spitting watermelon seeds through my front teeth. I've had a gap the size of the grand canyon since I was little, just once I would love to smile a big toothy smile and not have a black hole.

Connie, I had my gap filled a few years ago. Now my dh doesn't even remember my having one!

[Chris]

Originally Posted by quilter422

wonderful question, steph, and i'm loving all the answers.

oh. this one is pure selfishness. i'd get candice olsen (hgtv's devine design decorator) to help me design my studio. and maybe the rest of the house, too.

I'd get her to do my whole house!!

[Elena]

Love this thread! We are all so similar in our longing for the simple joys of home & hearth and family & friends as well as a desire for creative outlet & travel and helping others. It's a beautiful thing

[ValerieP]

What a wonderful thing to ponder...
I would love to travel, but would love a 5th wheel so my dogs and may harp could go, I have so much of the US to see! I would also love to see many places outside of the US
I would love to live in a small town where I could grow a garden and enjoy the safety of good neighbors.
I would love to stay with my sons a bit-they have a guest room! Oh-but I would also like to have some time-some time to just enjoy the beaches and the rivers and the creeks--

[kmartorina]

This is a little long, but I came across it today and it made me ponder...

An American businessman was standing at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish.

?How long it took you to catch them?? The American asked.

?Only a little while.? The Mexican replied.

?Why don?t you stay out longer and catch more fish?? The American then asked.

?I have enough to support my family?s immediate needs.? The Mexican said.

?But,? The American then asked, ?What do you do with the rest of your time??

The Mexican fisherman said, ?I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life, senor.?

The American scoffed, ?I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds you buy a bigger boat, and with the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats.?

?Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the consumers, eventually opening your own can factory. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually NYC where you will run your expanding enterprise.?

The Mexican fisherman asked, ?But senor, how long will this all take??

To which the American replied, ?15-20 years.?

?But what then, senor??

The American laughed and said, ?That?s the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO (Initial Public Offering) and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions.?

?Millions, senor? Then what??

The American said slowly, ?Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos??

[Chris]

It really boils down to the fact I've done or am doing what I always dreamed of; years of yearning for, and finally giving birth to two wonderful girls; education, work and life in the arts; travel and living all over the world; a house on a lake for the spring and fall; because of careful saving and investments, living in retirement with no concerns about money.

Now I want to de-clutter and simplify (the hardest thing to do!) and we will do some more travel to visit my family in England as soon as I get my passport in shape!

For now, we are enjoying being together, relaxing, and staying close to our children and their children.

[Chris]

Originally Posted by kmartorina

This is a little long, but I came across it today and it made me ponder...

The American said slowly, ?Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos??

I was too busy typing to read this before - it says it all!

[ValerieP]

I concur!

[katrinak]

Originally Posted by mugsbigsis

OMGosh between you and Carol, Katrina and Teri A I may have to schedule a "photo hop!" :O)

Please do, we'd love to show you the sights of Northern California

[sam ellis]

I think I have an AWESOME life and wouldn't complain. But I dream too.

I know what I would do .

I would travel and write and photograph and my biggest dream is to volunteer my time to children. Aids babas and sick babas. I don't wanna do oh 2 hours a week where i rush in and out as I know it will be another chore I get through.

SO there....

Have loved reading about all your dreams ! AWESOME thread

[Scrapbird]

Originally Posted by allmine

Kelly - you can come visit me in Kennewick, we're only 3 1/2 hours from Seattle so we zip on over there for visits all the time. And then we can go see Katrina in San Francisco!

And you guys can stop here!! I live on the coast between San Francisco and Seattle. Not exactly in the middle...a bit closer to San Francisco, but it's beautiful here.


This thread is wonderful. Thanks for starting it, Steph; I am loving getting to know this side of everyone.

I'm nearing the end of a career I chose and still love, but getting tired. This is my 32nd year of teaching Middle School. Since dh had a stroke and had to retire early, I'll be working for a while longer.

If we could afford it, I'd want to travel the world and look for birds in the planet's parks and wildlife refuges. I'd like to contribute to saving the world's natural places, and volunteer my time to take city kids out into the woods and mountains.

I would also pay off all my kids' student loans and help them realize their dreams.

[mugsbigsis]

Originally Posted by Steph

But, really, what I'd like to do is build a house in Maine on the water - a very simple farmhouse with a big porch and a huge cozy fireplace (almost exactly what you described, Barb!) - and allow myself and my family the peace that comes with being content where you live. I don't live where I want to be for the rest of my life and I want to wake up and LOVE what I see out my windows. And I want to work more with my hands - quilting, crafting, photography, gardening, etc....that all spells home and happiness to me.

This sounds WONDERFUL. I'll come visit and I'll bring my stitching with me.

[dorah]

If I money were no object and I could do whatever I wanted, the first thing I would do is find a doctor who could finally figure out why my ds has seizures and get them stopped or controlled so he could have his dream of being able to get his license and drive. Then I would buy him the car of his dreams and we would go on a long trip across the United States where HE could actually do the driving and I could sit back and just snap away taking photos to my heart's content of whatever caught my fancy. And then I would create the most amazing book to capture the experience complete with beautiful photos and wonderful text.
And then I would be happy to just live a quiet life somewhere. Near the ocean would be nice I think.

[nirecreations]

This has really got me thinking. What a great thread, thanks Steph!

[Steph]

Originally Posted by dorah

If I money were no object and I could do whatever I wanted, the first thing I would do is find a doctor who could finally figure out why my ds has seizures and get them stopped or controlled so he could have his dream of being able to get his license and drive. Then I would buy him the car of his dreams and we would go on a long trip across the United States where HE could actually do the driving and I could sit back and just snap away taking photos to my heart's content of whatever caught my fancy. And then I would create the most amazing book to capture the experience complete with beautiful photos and wonderful text.
And then I would be happy to just live a quiet life somewhere. Near the ocean would be nice I think.

As the mom of an 8-year-old daughter with epilepsy, I can totally, totally relate!!!!!

[shhbabymine]

Oh how I imagine this, Steph (great thread)...so I will play, I would have the farmhouse I designed when I was a teenager built, on acerage so we could grow all our own food, and own horses, I would homeschool my kids and take them on excursions to ehnance their education through seeing and first hand experiences all around the country (and world for that matter)... we would visit family more, and I would write childrens books, get a new camera, and make things, cooking, crafting, homemaking... it would make me happy!

[Mary Rogers]

be a stay at home momma for my kids : )
pretty simple but that is all I ever really wanted...

[Blossom]

If that happened in the near future by chance I would take a sabbatical year or two from work and do something for myself. I would join a gym and workout in the mornings after the kids goes to school - and focus on healthy eating = loosing all the extra pounds I carry around. And have time for my kids when they get home from school.

Travel like others want to do

[maureenreynolds]

"there is a wonderful Rubber Stamp Store that sells great southwestern stamps. And on the square is a deli that sells green chili croissants that are horribly expensive, but once you eat one, you gladly pay through the teeth for another one - you gotta' go!"
I love that stamp shop!! (and because of my purchases there I REALLY should learn to stamp properly!!) We go out west about every other year to see the Mesa family ...and ...to buy green chiles to keep us going. Green chile croissants...now that's an idea.

btw, when I left a job over 10 years ago, I envisioned how the next place would look, how I would dress, what would be outside my window etc etc and then figured I would have to move somewhere far to have that. NO. I ended up with a job, again less than a mile from my house, with all the details I had envisioned thru one of those flukey coincidences. About that time I also realized I really really wanted to be married again, did the same with the envisioning of the qualities, and there he was. I saw what my heart really wanted, and that is hard to sometimes really admit to ourselves even. (and it's not just Steph who hesitated here... no dreams are foolish or stupid or whatever we use to minimize our wants) But I did it, and the process of acknowledging the want/need and then letting it go ...worked for me.

I'm only sayin'.

[hguenthe]

First I would make sure that our family farm that my aunt & uncle still farm was all paid off & they had everything they needed to ensure that the land stays in the family forever. It has been in the family & farmed since 1906 and been the meeting place of so many memorable family events & childhood memories. Their continuing it in the family tradition means so much to so many of us in my family. I am hoping to get the chance to visit it again when we go back to Canada in October to get updated photos as I love seeing the photos we have of it changing over the years.

Then for myself, I would love to just spend simple days living at the beach with Mike by my side and room for him to have all the kitties he wanted around... of course, it would also include him not having to work so that I wasn't left home alone all day to look after the kitties non-stop. You mother's are amazing! it has only been a couple of months but these 6 kitties have me screaming at times to let me off this bus & give me some quiet

[echogirl]

Loving this thread!
I've got to really think about this.

[quilter422]

Originally Posted by hguenthe

You mother's are amazing! it has only been a couple of months but these 6 kitties have me screaming at times to let me off this bus & give me some quiet

hey, i've ridden this ride!

[Aino]

This was fun to read!! Great thread Steph!

OK, so my list is not different from the rest of yours.
I would travel the world, go back to Africa and do some volunteer work, bring my camera and write the stories I see.

That's for the ME list. For the rest of the family... get my dh THAT car/bike/watch/TV he would like. The kids an education and a trip to Disneyland. And lots of books for all of us.

[anke]

Oh wow, awesome thread! First I would eliminate any debt my family in Germany has. I would love to keep our house and I would share Candice with you guys! I would love to put a glass enclosure around our pool with heat and lots of exotic plants. Then I would love a house for the winter somewhere warm. And then travel and
ore travel. New Zealand and Australia have Lways been on my list and I would love to go back to Italy. I'd hire a tutor for the kids so that we could go all the time. Other than that I love my life and wouldn't change a thing

[anke]

Oh yeah I also would like to go back to lake tahoe and visit Katrina on her big farm on the way. We could ride over to rubicon (I'm assuming they sell beer there )

[AllynD]

I would raise llamas, and invite people over a lot, and write. Maybe I would start a group home for lonely llama-raising writers.

[AllynD]

Or I would go to seminary, which is the next best thing in the world. But I am already going to seminary and it makes me very happy.