My Third Cash Bonus — Why Joy And Sorrow Lie Close Together
Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. Live your dreams now.
A few days ago, I received the happy news that I’d got the much sought-after bonus for the third time in a row. My hard work had paid off. How much money $100 is, is a matter of opinion.
My first inclination was to save money. Because the dream of my husband and I is to be able to lead a digitally nomadic life one day, to realize this, it’s important to have as much money stashed away as possible. A few days later I got the bad news about the sudden death of a family member.
Having a child makes us aware of our own mortality
Having a one-year-old child has changed our lives, our view of things, and makes us aware of our own mortality. As some of you know, the three of us are currently enjoying time at the sea. After surviving our Corona infection, we were still having trouble breathing weeks later.
We had to get out. The doctor’s recommendation was to go to the sea. I immediately realized where we needed to go: Sylt, an island in the North Sea. I spent some of my childhood vacations here, my parents met on the idyllic island and my grandparents went on vacation here too. Both my granddad and my dad even thought about moving here.
The sudden death of a family member
Yesterday, however, I got the bad news about the sudden death of a family member. They didn’t want to tell us at first that she was in the hospital, because we are on a long-awaited vacation and should take care of our health, but yesterday I found out. By that time, it was too late. The person had already died.
I have to say it blew my mind. I was in shock. I immediately called home and asked what had happened, how the other family members were, and whether I could do anything.
But there was nothing more to do. The only thing I could still do was send a bouquet of condolence. This I have just paid via PayPal. From my savings account, where my Medium money lies, the money we will use one one day to fulfill our dream that we can work from anywhere.
For example, from this island, in the evening, when our baby is asleep, my husband and I sit in the living room or in the garden and go after our side hustles, which we lead with much passion.
The moment is now
When I spoke to my father on the phone, who was also in shock, he told me to stay on the island as long as possible. If we can, we should extend our time here. The moment was now. We should enjoy the time we have because we’ll never get it back.
He also had a dream to settle here. But he couldn’t do it due to his job in the ‘little big apple’, Frankfurt. As a broker, you needed to be present. Nowadays, you can also sell and buy stocks online. But if you are a counselor, like my dad used to be, you are still supposed to stay in contact with your clients.
I should stay on the island and never come back
These are sayings that you often read about or even hear on the deathbed of a loved one. But to hear them from my father’s mouth is strange. He is more for the conservative life: house, garden, fixed-job. And if a vacation, then a vacation without working.
He was proud that I was still writing on the side. I had such a good style, he said. Maybe one day I would become a real writer. Every word of my vacation report was to the point. Even as a child I wrote such great stories.
He repeated that I should stay on the island until it was no longer possible. In fact, it would be best never to come back. Write a novel and earn money with it, or try to find a job where I could work remotely from the island. At some point, his voice broke. He cried. He said he had to stop.
Why save for life in a few years?
As I said at the beginning, the $100 bonus is relative. I thought I was squirreling it away for my dreams. But now I’m spending it on this bouquet. I would much rather have spent the money on a nice gift for a birthday.
I know that on this platform there is Anne Bonfert, for example, who will soon lose her grandmother. I assume that there are many more who are about to lose a loved one. It can happen from one moment to the next.
Instead of racking your brains about your dreams and plans for the future, you stop for a moment and ask yourself:
Why does it all have to be in the future?
Why save for life in a few years?
Why not stay on this island until you can’t anymore and never come back?
As far as I’m concerned, my job as a product manager needs personal contact as well. I have to give presentations, represent our products, talk to clients, attend meetings in person, and so on.
My husband is a software developer. His job doesn’t need any personal contact but his company still wants him to be present.
We want to change our lives for the better
During Corona, we could both be home, spend more time with the family and enjoy our lunch breaks together.
Who knows what the next months will bring? We don’t want to quit our jobs. That’s too risky for us, especially with a baby. But we want to have the opportunity to work from anywhere we want. We’ll have to wait and see, or we’ll have to put more work into our side hustles in order to make it happen sooner.
No matter what, we want to change our lives for the better. We don’t need our rented apartment. We could be and live anywhere we want as long as we are together.
We could get rid of all the clutter. We don’t need it. But for now, the time doesn’t seem to be ripe. Still, we will force our side hustle and hope it will improve as time goes by.
