The Best Day in MY Life

Good morning, afternoon or evening!  I am today's host for the

BlogFEST 

and today's prompt is a finish this sentence prompt.

The Best Day in My Life....

You may finish this one any way you please. Any way at all.  Run with it! I can't wait to read your thoughts!

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Here are my thoughts on this one...


The easiest and probably most honest answer would be the birth of my babies, two days equally happy, but I think there was one day that I might have been happier in a completely different.

In 1988 our first granddaughter was born. That was a very happy time. Not just one day though. As each grandchild came the same, very happy times, but not single days. My retirement has created many happy days in a row running now into years of contentment and pleasure, but not a single happiest day in my life.

Defining happiness as a very light heart, no worries, electrified feeling of elation and satisfaction, the happiest day of my life was September 21, 2012.  We paid off our mortgage and became home owners free and clear. If we want to sell out now and do something else, the money would be ours. If we decide to stay here for the long haul, the investment has been made. Mike can retire in December as he says he plans, without that mortgage hanging over his head. It has been my dream for a very long time to never have to worry about losing our home regardless of what happened financially in our lives. We have an annuity which will pay the taxes and insurance, unless they sky-rocket, for the rest of our lives. So we feel fairly confident we are good as far as a roof over our heads go. Unbelievable relief.

At this point we owe the usual monthly utilities and insurances and nothing else.

That day was like our own independence day. Happy is almost not a big enough word. It wasn't like a new baby happy; not like Mom finally moved close to us happy; not the kids are all coming home for a day happy more like life-settling-in-as-we-hoped-and-planned for many years happy. The kind of happy that sits easily on your stomach and heart and mind. Peace, contentment and maybe even a bit of sedation falling all around us. A kind of happiness that only comes from working together for 13 years with a single goal. Both incomes contributing until only one was needed and then a little belt tightening for 7 years until finally, it's achieved with very little effort. It just took single minded financing and never allowing other debts to become more important or too big to allow the extra money on that mortgage. It all worked. Losing $70,000 after 9/11 from his pension fund didn't help at all. That money would have paid the house off, had the financial adviser we used insisted we should NOT pay off the house, but rather invest in insurance, it's very safe. RIGHT.
September 11 nearly bankrupted the insurance company we were heavily invested with and we were too old and too far in to ever recover that kind of loss. We made a new plan and I went back to work after my first retirement was just 3 years old. I worked 4 more years and then was able to safely walk away and retire for good (I hope) nearly 3 years ago.

Deep, deep satisfaction and comfort in this kind of happiness.

At age 74 and almost 63, I believe our golden years began September 21, 2012!

Jo