It's been a minute since I posted here, so I figure it's time for an update.
There's a lot of good news to report. The first is that we're fully halfway to our extremely conservative, Bogleheads-worthy, big rolls of belly FatFire number and, as a result, are expecting to be fully done by 2028 and perhaps even a littler sooner if the stock gods continue to smile on us.
The other good news is that some of the big questions of life have been answered this year. We had our third child last fall and are definitely done -- no more "what if" about another child. We also pulled the trigger on a vacation home on land in country. This has been a dream many years in the making and, with interest rates crazy low and finding the right place, we jumped on it. We're planning to use it as a short-term rental eventually to defray some of the costs, but that's not essential to our plan, and we will probably put that off for a bit just to enjoy it ourselves.
The less good news is that 2020 has been a tough year for both of us job-wise. We're both still employed and everyone is healthy, so we are grateful for that. But doing the two remote working parents with remote school for two kids and on-and-off daycare for nine months has led to strained work relationships and serious burnout. There are a lot of mornings I wake up and think, "I cannot do this another eight years." My husband has gotten particular shit because he's taken the lead on schooling and he has one higher-up in particular that doesn't get it and, frankly, has made some pretty sexist comments about "his commitment" to his work.
On the one hand, there's a part of me that wants to just rent out the city house, move to the country, and downshift. I could totally see me doing my job remotely and my husband being the SAH parent. But I'm wary of the "grass is always greener" thinking, and it would be a big lifestyle change for all involved. We also made the mistake of falling in love with our current home and we'd have a hard time turning it over to someone else, even as a rental.
All of which is to say, I feel bad for feeling bad when most everything in our lives is awesome. I try to focus on gratitude, but it can be hard. Number one goal for the coming year has to be prioritizing our mental and physical health. Otherwise, the burnout is going to get us.