Real life happens

I am 65 years old and planned on retiring at 67. I have worked for the same company for most of my career, and according to my Advisors, I "have done everything right". I lived within my means, I didn't go into debt, my home is almost paid off, and I always participated in my company retirement plan. I would lay in bed at night and dream of the day I could finally visit the cities I had always wanted to see - Vienna, Paris, Prague. Only a few more years - I can do this! But then, the walls felt like they were closing in. First, my oldest child announced she was getting divorced, and suddenly she was moving into our home with her two young children. As we helped to heal her broken heart, our second child, fresh out of college, announced he wanted to go to grad school and could we help him. Naturally, we did the best we could and helped both children as they navigated their "new normal". The next phone call came from my 87-year-old mother. She had slipped and fell at her apartment and broke her hip. She was in the hospital and headed for rehab. Meanwhile, my father-in-law needed help getting to-and-from his chemotherapy sessions and help around the house in the days that followed. After a few weeks, my visions of Vienna started to slip away. My life was filled with overwhelmed children and aging parents. There was no way we could sell the house and travel - our children are still living in our home, and our parents need us locally. Now I am financially and emotionally exhausted. I didn't see this coming. I was prepared for my own path - but I didn't prepare for everyone else's life along the way. Finally, I reached my breaking point. It had been two years, and I was lost. The team at Brandon Grace took the time to help me organize a family meeting. They were an amazing quarterback for me as we all sat down and discussed our real life - not the dream I once had in my head - but my new reality. Together, we drew up a plan that found balance and security. The walls stopped falling in on me. I was able to hold myself up and see the road again. It isn't the same road I was originally headed down, but I'm delighted with the outcome, the progress and the prospect of what my future may hold.