I know that look. I see it all the time on the faces of friends and co-workers when I tell them that yes, I do wish to walk away from a well-paying professional job in my peak earning years to go cruising. A sort of bemused confusion as they attempt to wrap their minds around why any sane person would consider such a thing. But let me show you something. See this?

That’s a digital picture frame that hangs on the wall in our living room. I’m pretty proud of it, because I made it myself. It’s a display from an old Gateway monitor that I disassembled and mounted in some frame parts from Hobby Lobby. I feed it from a dedicated laptop that sits in our server closet above the pantry. It cycles through about a thousand pictures, every one of which brings a smile to our faces. Many show our favorite places from trips we’ve taken, most to tropical locations. Others show Rhonda and I doing things we enjoy together, such as zip lining or cave tubing or sailing on our boat.

You know what it doesn’t show? You can stand there and watch for hours, but you won’t see one single picture of us preparing to go to work, or mowing the lawn, or paying bills, or sitting on the couch watching television. In other words, over 99% of how we spend our lives isn’t there.

Think about that. The only thing you’re given in life is time. How you choose to spend it is up to you. I think Rhonda and I should spend more of whatever time we have left together doing things and going places that end up being picture worthy.

So yes, I am serious. And don’t call me Shirley.