I have been following Norm and Tina for about 3 years now. This charming couple moved to Canada from the UK in the early 90s, raised a family and then sold their home and retired early. They then travelled and started a youtube channel: This is Our Retirement.

I came across this video when it started circulating on other channels by Financial Advisors where they broke down how to retire on just $300000, which got them a big following:

They always seemed so active and healthy: they walked every day, tried to watch their diet and they lived a generally low-stress lifestyle doing the things they enjoyed. So it was an absolute shock to me when Tina announced recently that Norm had passed away a day after his 70th birthday party, following a triple bypass surgery. I actually screamed and cried, “NOOOOO!” when I saw it, which just speaks to the power of parasocial relationships. I am devastated for Tina and their family.

But also: how great is it that Norm retired at 55 instead of 65? He had 15 years of retirement with Tina as opposed to 5 (or maybe even 0 for some folks). It just speaks to the idea that you never quite know what the future holds so you may as well take giant leaps of faith when you can.

To make it a bit about me, when I retired I was 42. I announced it to a small audience on social media. When reading all of the kind comments from friends, family and old colleagues I had the darkest thought: some of these folks who are concerned about me today may actually be diagnosed with worse things or pass away before me. This, of course, has happened in the past 8 years. I’m not trying to be edgy or goth about the entire thing so much as reiterate that there is no knowing about the future. We have to take things as they come and live our lives in the best way that we can.

In the end, I am glad Tina is carrying on with the channel and it is my heartfelt wish that she is surrounded with love and support both by friends and family. It’s also good to take a moment when these things happen and reflect on whether or not you are living your best life (given your circumstances). I wish you all, a very merry reflection on “…what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?”

Enjoy your weekend, friends.