Why We Chose Voluntary Simplicity: Sometimes There Is No Tomorrow

Ten years ago my husband and I were spending most of our time at work. Financially everything was great… the store we owned and operated was in a wonderful location, it was a spacious, attractive and newly renovated space, and the extra large office meant that our children could always be there with us. To all of us our store was like a home away from home, and the only down side was that we were spending so much time there that we never had any time or energy left for our real home or the other things we felt were more important. As the years went by, we began to realize that we never were going to have that time as long as we had the store. Still, letting go of the store was almost unthinkable because we had worked so hard to get to where we were.

But life doesn’t stand still. One day we received a certified letter notifying us that our very likable, but rather disorganized landlord was being forced to file for bankruptcy and that the entire plaza would be sold at auction. A few anxious weeks later we learned that the new owner intended to completely renovate all the stores and that construction would start immediately. And it did. A crew of carpenters moved throughout the plaza, ripping out walls and changing the location of doors and windows, with the new owner directing the action and often changing his mind in mid-demolition. We discovered that the new owner had a violent temper and that it was better to keep out of his way. We saw him in horrible rages, sometimes losing control completely and screaming and throwing things at his crew. Having him nearby was often quite unnerving. The demolition went on for weeks and weeks and then suddenly one day before anything was actually finished, all the tenants received notice that the renovation work had now ended and that from that point on each tenant was responsible for any further work that would be done. Also that anyone not liking that arrangement was released from their lease and could leave immediately. Like most of the other tenants, we stayed because we had so much already invested in that location.

It was now early summer and our busiest time of year, and the only time we could do the renovation work was nights and weekends. We worked, like the other tenants did, all through the summer months. And then it was early September and most of the stores were finally back to normal. Strangely, the couple who owned the space next to us finished the same day we did, and we spent over an hour that Thursday afternoon commiserating with each other about what a terribly difficult time the last several months had been, and about how we yearned to be able to spend more time at home and have a life again outside of our workplace. I especially remember the woman’s enthusiasm and determination that this very day would be their first step towards a less harried life… they would close their store early, pick up their children at school, and have a relaxed family evening for the first time in months.

That night as I was preparing our dinner with the television news on in the background, I was stunned to hear that this couple had been involved in an horrible accident less than an hour after we had talked. The woman was killed immediately and the man was critically injured. All I could think about was that just a few hours earlier I had been listening to this woman’s plans for a future that now would never happen for them.

For us, the accident was a sad reminder that sometimes there is no tomorrow. It was also the impetus we needed to make our plans and dreams a reality. It was not an easy decision, and it still took us a few more months to plan out what we were going to do, but slightly over a year after that terrible night, and just days before we would have had to sign another ten year lease, we sold off the last of our merchandise, closed our store, and never looked back. Everyone who knew us thought we had lost our minds, because we are not normally impulsive people, and at the time we made the decision we had no other income. Everyone thought what we were doing was totally out of character for us, and it was, but we felt so strongly that we were doing the right thing. And because we had savings and were completely debt-free… we had already paid off our mortgage and car loans and pared down our expenses as much as we could… we had already greatly simplified our life and made this change in lifestyle possible. We have no regrets. A few months after we closed the store, we started another business that we could manage from home, and it has grown to provide us with a comfortable income. Our life has regained its balance, and our time is our own again. I only wish our friends could have lived to have the same opportunity.

Filed Under Simple Living, Voluntary Simplicity, Personal