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Living the Middle

life between the suburbs & retirement sailing

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About Steffan and Kelly

All About Kelly
I am from a small town in what is called ‘Greater Minnesota’ and currently reside in a northern suburb of the Twin Cities with the fam. Although my ultimate goal is to get out of this frozen tundra that I’ve called home for my entire life, for now, we’re making the best of it ’til the kids are out of school. I believe that no matter a person’s situation, it is essential that they work toward what is most important to them. Small…even tiny…steps move us forward toward goals that may seem unattainable. Maybe some goals are unattainable, but during the journey, something even better will arise. The fact is, life sucks sometimes, but we get to decide how we’re going to live through it–both the sucky times and the awesome times.

In addition to the day-to-day of life, my primary focuses in life right now are:
1) Supporting our kids on their journey towards adulthood and the lives they want to live.
2) Planning for our independent future, doing my best to make sure our goals are achieved as best they can be.
3) Keeping us all as healthy as possible–transitioning to a Whole Food Plant-based vegan diet & being consistent about exercise.
4) Learning. Whether it be about nutrition or sailing or a new language. Life-long, continual learning keeps my mind active and myself satisfied.

On the personal side, I’ve been divorced for over 10 years and after a failed post-divorce, long-term relationship decided that online dating was the best option for an introvert like me to hopefully meet someone compatible. The online-dating thing was a good call as I met my amazing husband, whom I married on Halloween in 2016. I brought two of our three kids and two cats to this three-petted household situation. We currently live a mostly harmonious life together and are figuring out the rest.

All About Steffan
I’ve made some big changes and big moves over the course of my life, but like Kelly I believe that it’s the thousands of micro decisions and reactions that influence your path. Even catastrophic events are rarely completely out of the blue.’

It’s hard to tell from my accent, but I grew up in England.  Met someone in college, moved to the US, eventually in Minnesota.  Although marriage ended after 18 years, our proudest accomplishment from my first marriage has been our daughter, and we have been reasonably successful in meeting the challenges of shared custody and co-parenting.

Getting out of my introverted post-divorce comfort zone and meeting Kelly has been revolutionary.   My rapid recovery from that life-changing dislocation and our evolution into a successful blended family has only been possible with the strength of our relationship. Our complimentary personalities and attitudes necessarily drive us towards our shared goals.

My areas of focus are

  1. Supporting and helping guide the transition of our kids into adulthood and independence.
  2. Focus on the financial details of our current and upcoming life stages.
  3. Preparing for our sailboat cruising liveaboard dreams.

In support of these, I am trying to maintain day-to-day focus, measuring, planning and dreaming!

 

Welcome to Living the Middle!

Blended family

We’ve got three kids, two cats, three marriages and two divorces between us.  LivingTheMiddle.com is the place where we share perspectives, as well as our successes and failures on our journey from suburbia to the goal of sailboat live aboard status.

For more on our super intriguing lives, check out ‘About Steffan and Kelly’.

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