Thinking of a Lifestyle Change

[justinl]

I wish you the best wherever you find yourself. You've contributed greatly to this place and I have learned quite a bit from you... even if we have never met!

good luck!

[Cap'n]

Grandkids, eh? Understandable.

Think you should hang on to a couple little things, though. Otherwise you may regret the complete lack of animal company and find yourself on the road back to what you once had. Besides, if you do decide you don't even want a nano and a small cage its easy enough to get rid of those too.

Time is the most valuable thing you have. I'm excited for you and look forward to mamking the big lifestyle decisions in my future.

You'll still be around here though, right?

[Beverly]

Thank you for the kind words and for the suggestions....

We moved a few years ago. At that time, we had a 180g reef, but sadly had to give it up due to the move, though we kept our finches. A few months after the move, I missed having a tank. Reefkeeping was all I knew back then, so I sneakily set up a 7g bowfront nano. It was so cute that when I found a 2.5g bowfront nano a few weeks later, I again sneakily set it up, too. Later, I did a 28g bowfront with H. whitei seahorses. My poor husband has been through so much with me and my reefs

Anyway, fast forward to the current decision. I have more than enough to do now. I have movie sets to build, props to build and buy from far away places and places close to home, story lines to write, video to shoot and edit, accompanying music to create, and of course a granddaughter to play Grandma monster and Rebecca monster with

A small cage with finches, IME, is not the correct way to keep these kinds of birds. Have done nanos to death. Need all the extra space in various rooms in our apartment condo for new endeavors. Am looking forward to having my den free of stacks of salt. The pantry and several cupboads will be free of test kits, additives, extra heaters, finch paraphernalia etc. The master bedroom will no longer have the new saltwater mixing garbage can and associated equipment. Like, man, it's gonna be a brand new condo, and I can hardly wait to get the space back again.

But I'm sure we will go through pet withdrawel. It happened to some extent when we found our ball python a new home late last year. But we haven't looked back from that experience, and I don't expect we'll be looking back longing at the time when we had all our pets.

I'm sure I will visit Canreef from time to time, if only to post my new videos and to check in on my friends on the board. Besides, I'm still gonna have to sell my stuff here and make it to 4,000 posts

[Doug]

HI Bev,
Sorry to see you leave. Your contribution to the board will be missed. Good luck. FWIW, I think I understand, {my downsize to my 30g} and as a grandfather of two girls.

[Delphinus]

Man alive, when you put it that way, you almost convinced me to quit the hobby too, just when I have my 280g stand half built. My poor wife will kill me if I change my mind now though! I have to see this through to the end before deciding that it's time to stop.

Best of luck Bev, sorry to see another old-timer move past the hobby, but seriously, the way you've put it makes it sound like a no-brainer (you really did have me thinking for a nanosecond there!) Sounds like an interesting new hobby for you on the horizon, have fun with it!

[kuatto]

Best of luck with your new freedom.Its not like you can never come back if you decide you want to set up another tank.I look forward to seeing your new videos.

[woodcarver]

As a comparative newcomer ( and grandfather ),may I add my best wishes for your new venture . I have enjoyed reading your posts .
Thankyou.
.........................Dave,.

[EmilyB]

I look forward to that freedom someday, but then there's the dogs....

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Good luck Bev. Thanks for sharing all your experiences with us for so many years.

Anthony

[Snappy]

I have grandkids too and understand how life constantly evolves and our priorities change. I hope to be snow-birding it sometime in the next 3 to 6 years which is why I haven't upsized my system and built the fish room I've always wanted. I guess when that time comes I'll be shutting down too. Good luck Bev, have fun with your new ventures.