The first one already happened, and I damn sure didn’t see it coming. I met my wife right after I’d completely given up on love. Not “taking a break.” Not “working on myself.” I was done. Figured that ship had sailed and was probably at the bottom of the ocean next to common sense and affordable groceries. Then life pulled one of its usual smartass moves and proved me wrong. So, somehow, my biggest dream came true after I stopped believing it ever would. Go figure.
The second one is still sitting out there waiting for me. Retirement. The day I punch that clock for the last time, I want to throw a middle finger at alarm clocks, work schedules, and the phrase “mandatory meeting.” Load up an RV with my wife, the dogs, enough coffee to survive civilization, and just drive. No real destination. If we find a cool little town, we stay. If we find a geocache in the middle of nowhere, even better. If we see the world’s largest ball of twine, we’re stopping, because America is full of weird shit and I’m here for it.
Some people dream about giant houses, fancy cars, or climbing the corporate ladder. Screw that. I already know what I want. I want to wake up somewhere different whenever I feel like it, drink my coffee outside, go find a few caches, see places I’ve never seen, and not give a single damn what day of the week it is. After decades of living by someone else’s schedule, that sounds like winning to me.