Those are the words I heard for the 20th time from my 3 year old grandson on the 3rd day of our Florida vacation on the white sandy beaches of St.Pete. Of course I helped him build another one so he could admire it for a few seconds before triumphantly smashing it.
And why not? We both deserved the feeling of triumph. It had been a year since our family had unplugged and gotten this kind of down time together, although it seemed much longer. We’ve been coming to Florida for spring break for 16 years and I can’t remember a longer, colder more brutal winter in that span nor a time when I needed a vacation more.
It usually takes me a couple of days before I can unwind and get into vacation mode and this year was no exception, helped by the fact that I spent 4 hours trying to enroll a client who called me the previous afternoon wanting my help enrolling him in Obamacare on the last day of the deadline. A million other people had the same idea and naturally the website crashed over and over making it unclear as to when we will know for sure if we actually got his family covered.
So I was feeling a bit drained when we hit the beach early the next morning while the rest of the family spent a leisurely morning having coffee, breakfast and relaxed vacation chatter.
The thing I notice with him as with so many kids is they are experts at living in the moment. No distractions. No worries. No cares. Just 100% focus on having fun and experiencing Joy. It took me about ten sandcastles to get on his wavelength before I realized- again- that we need vacations. We need downtime to unplug from the busyness of our jobs and life; to relax and recharge mentally, physically and spiritually and connect at a deeper level with those who mean the most to us. To re-learn the simplicity and joy of living in the moment that oozes from kids and young people.
It also made me appreciate the value of planning ahead. Vacations just don’t happen. We usually plan them well in advance so we can receive the maximum amount of enjoyment and renewal.
So what does all this have to do with insurance and financial services? Probably more than we realize. We all have a limited amount of time and money and sometimes we squander more of both than we should without thinking about it because we want things sooner rather than later. That’s the challenge we face when saving and investing for retirement. It’s such a long way off yet many of us will spend nearly a third of our lives there, so we need to realize the health and financial decisions we make now will determine the quality of our lives in the future.
For some of us that means making a renewed commitment to becoming healthier, reducing debt and investing more in our IRA’s or 401k’s, and reminding ourselves everyday WHY we should do so. For me, it’s so I can have as many days as possible in the future enjoying my children and grandchildren, building sandcastles, swimming, camping , fishing and doing all the things that have become a tradition and so very important to our family.
What is your reason WHY? The more you clarify what is - and who is - important to you, the more motivated you will be to want to make the changes necessary so you may live the life you've imagined in your future. That is where the professionals at the Ramsburg Agency can help. We have the insurance and financial products you'll need to help you plan for the future while making you feel more secure today in case the unexpected happens... because sandcastles don’t last forever. Give us a call and let’s start planning .
Will Adamczyk is a Certified Financial Planner professional with Ramsburg Insurance & Financial Services, He focuses on Retirement and Income Planning for the Baby Boomer generation.