This morning we ‘checked in’ with each other. We do this randomly, it is never a planned thing, but it is a good thing to do and I hope we never stop doing it.

You’d think with all the time we spend together that we would not have to do that. We talk everyday, about all sorts of things we even talk about future plans but ‘checking in’ is different. It is when we stop and really make sure we are still supporting each other the way we promised to. That our goals are still the same (as in the same for our family not the same as when we met) that we have not lost track of our greater dream while we take the steps to get there. I think that happens a lot to people.

It is shown in the cartoon “Up” how life can get in the way of bigger dreams. The cartoon shows how one can still have a life that is fulfilling and lived without regrets but at the beginning of the movie only one character had that, the other had to have a big adventure to get to the same place of peace. So, we ‘check in’ to make sure we are both content with where we are going.

One of the big things for us is that Denis eventually has no other ‘job’ than to raise our kid(s) and take care of our family. I get to spend as much time as I want with my practice/studies as I desire, from home, so that I too get to enjoy everyones company. Travel or at least the ability to move easily is important, and I think being in a tropical climate at some point would be nice. Have a little cottage on a beach somewhere peaceful and with warm water… ooohhh, must take a moment to just enjoy that part of our vision.

Today we touched on what time frame we are looking at for the parts closest to our hearts to become a reality. Presto! We have a five year plan. I never thought of us as a five year plan kind of couple but… that is the beauty of the ‘checking in’. We are not traditional planners, we are simply saying how long we are wanting to give this next stage of our life to develop into whatever it develops into before we change if it is not what we envision for ourselves. It is one way in which we honour each other. How we strengthen our marriage.

The beach is about 10 years away in this current plan.