Tuesday, September 2, 2008

What Is a "Baby Boomer/"

It's my understanding that a "Baby Boomer" is a child born in the years following the end of WWII to approximately the mid-50's and has now reached retirement age.....well being born in September of 1950 and retired from one career.....I guess I qualify!


A bit of history.....I'm a native of south Florida and worked in a very large school system for 24 years, have been married to my husband "City Boy" for 32 years....we have two children (one of each), are dedicated animals lovers, believe that God does not give us more than we can deal with and thought we had a pretty good handle on life.


Two years ago City Boy and I decided to "retire," sold the house, packed up the dog, a small amount of furnitue and moved to a little teeny, tiny, can you say"small" town in the northwestern mountains of North Carolina. Since my parents have a vacation home in this area, we had visited here many times.....however, living here is a different story!!! Life here is a learning experience everyday!! What was that song..."country life is the one for me!" ....UGH!! Visions of Ava Gabor in my head...."Go away...go away!"


Having a strange childhood I though I was prepared for "mountain life." When we were children we worked on Aunt Bessie's tobacco farm in the summer and spent spring, fall and winter in sunny Florida...well...picking tobacco leaves and tomatoes from the garden does not a mountain girl make!


The City Boy and I were completely out of our element!!!


We've learned to live without AC 24/7.....We've learned that "back to nature" is not just a saying, but a way of life.....We've learned to shop in bulk, cause the nearest discount store is a 3 hour drive through the mountains.....We've learned to drive in morning fog or snow (a rare site in south FL).....swerve around deer, wild turkeys and groundhogs.....We've learned that you NEED 4-wheel drive and when to use it....We've learned to wave at every driver you pass, wither you know them or not.....We've learned that neighbors are really nice people, that you can talk to.....We've learned there are communities that still value Church, Family and State.....We've learned you can never retire....we both have part-time jobs....We've learned how to dehydrate, freeze and can food for the winter (called "putting away" like squirrels), which has caused a flurry of canning pickled eggs on City Boy's agenda (more about that later) and best of all ....We've learned to dress in layers.....cause mountain weather can change at the drop of a hat!


With all this said....I REALLY DO LOVE MOUNTAIN LIFE AND HAVE NO DESIRE TO MOVE BACK TO SOUTH FLORIDA......I'll take a good snow over a Class 4 hurricane anytime!!!


Are there any others out there like me? If so, please respond...I'd like to know I'm not alone on my mountain top.............BRBoomer


PS......bare with me this is my first blog and i'm just learning!!! Maybe I'll learn pictures soon!

1 comment:

  1. Way to go! You did a great job, getting started. Pickled eggs, no thanks!

    ReplyDelete