Self-Improvement Week: Long-Range Plans

Now we put it all together into long-range plans. This comes in two phases: the next five years, and the following ten.

The next five years will be dominated by the needs of Teen Daughter, who deeply desires to live with Southern Man and will be able to do so relatively soon. Southern Man will do his best to steer through through the turmoils of dating and driving and high school and prepare her to leave the nest for college or a career (she's thinking "flight attendant" right now). That means most of the plans for The Land will be on hold for a while as Casa Southern Man relocates to northwest Southern City. So the goals are:

• Negotiate with the ex and with family court until Southern Man gains physical custody of Teen Daughter. Motions were first filed in May; first hearing is in September...
• Find a suitable casa in the desired school district and move there.
• In spite of reduced income and increased outlay (Teen Daughters are expensive) maintain a financial plan with appropriate spending (so we have a good, fun life) and savings (for security and emergencies) without going further into debt, and pay off existing debt.
• Ensure that Teen Daughter has every opportunity to be successful in school.
• Ensure that Teen Daughter has every opportunity to continue her involvement with church activities.
• Ensure that Teen Daughter has enough, but not too much! (She's a little spoiled. OK, a lot spoiled. Yes, it's Southern Man's fault. Well, Southern Parents and Southern Sister may have had a share in that as well. She's a very spoilable girl.)
• Guide Teen Daughter through the perils of dating, learning to drive, managing her budget, understanding cell phone contracts, and the other stuff that everyone needs to know as they prepare to kick off their adult life, and ensure that when she flies from the nest that she's happy, well-adjusted, and prepared to face the world.
• Maintain The Land; do not let it slide back into disrepair and decay. This will make for a lot of very busy weekends.
• Do not neglect the goals listed on the previous page.

*Whew* That's going to be a tough five years. But it will be so, so worth it.

The next phase is centered on The Land: clean up the scrap piles, finish the existing buildings, finish the dock and firepit area, put up a garage / office, get a couple of wells down, put in a garden, construct the long-anticipated garden pond... The first two are ongoing and will continue until completed. Once the scrap piles are gone and the existing buildings finished out, Southern Man will start on other minor improvements and begin to plan and execute the third building. That won't be for a few years, at least, so for now this part of the plan is fairly vague.

In ten to twelve years Southern Man hopes to be settled on The Land, with all construction goals accomplished, and ready to enjoy the remaining years of his life in leisure and relaxation. And that's The Plan in a nutshell, right there.