Three frogs, two dogs and a duck’

A couple weeks ago my son called me while I was doing our favorite thing in the evening … reading a book to my wife on the front porch. He said, “What’s going on dad?” I said, “I’m reading to your mom and we have some company: Three frogs, two dogs and a duck!” He said that sounds like it would make a great story for your column. I said, “I think you’re right.” So here goes.

Exactly a year ago today as you read this column we made the biggest lifestyle change in our almost 44 years of being together.

We moved from a beautiful ocean-side resort community to an old rundown farm in Pitts. When we met our new (wonderful) neighbors, they said why would you want to leave the ocean and move to “The Pitts?!” That’s a great question and one that I’ve even asked myself a few times along the way. There are many components to the answer … more than I have space for here.

In fact, it wasn’t intended to be a permanent move. We actually thought it to be a great family place of recreation … fishing, hunting, 4-wheeling, etc. But once we got here last summer, the pull of the land was so strong that it was obvious, not just to me, but to our entire extended family as well, that this was to be our new home. So much for planning!

So has it been a good relaxing retirement move? Good? … yes! Relaxing? … NO! It’s been the hardest ongoing physical work of my life. But also the most satisfying in so many ways. Let me share with you a few of those ways.

First, the hard work has me in the best physical condition I’ve seen in years. I have physical and mental vigor that I thought was only a memory.

Second, we get to see three of our six grandchildren every week instead of every other month. They love it at “Nanny’s farm” and we love having them.

Third, we get to eat off the land. Fresh vegetables from my wife’s and our neighbors’ gardens, fresh fish from the pond and last season’s venison from the freezer. A new favorite game at each meal is to enumerate each of the things on the table that are “from the land” instead of from the grocery.

Fourth, we have changed our lifestyle in many wonderful ways. One of those is the way we are no longer tied to the TV. We used to be “news junkies,” always having the TV on some 24-hour news channel. Not that we sat and watched all the time but it was almost always on.

When we moved to the farm we decided to change that. No TV. We’d get our news from the radio and from the newspaper. And that’s exactly what we’ve done for the last year. It has been wonderful!

So this is what I want to leave with you today. I know everyone can’t move to a farm. But most of us can make lifestyle changes if we want. One of those changes might be planting a vegetable garden. Another is to evaluate your TV consumption and maybe replace it with reading … especially to your spouse if you’re one of the blessed seniors to still have your spouse with you. I cannot express to you in words what a huge blessing it has been for us to replace TV with reading to each other.

And if you’re really adventurous, you might even be able to share your reading with three frogs, two dogs and a duck!

See you next week!

HHJ News