My former, much loved (young) boss once referred to me and my husband as 'old hippies'. I was rather affronted by that. The appellation conjured up images of women with long, unkempt, frizzly gray hair, wearing patchwork skirts, love beads and Birks; or old guys with long, unkempt, frizzly gray hair tied back with bandannas, wearing battered, beaded vests over protruding, tattooed paunches and scruffy woven sandals. Naturally, I took umbrage. Never in either of our lives have my husband or I been hippies, not even when it was the thing to be one. We don't dress that way nor do we have long frizzly gray hair; Patrick actually has next to no hair at all and mine's super short. Now lest anyone becomes offended, let me say that though hippie-dom is not our style, it's fine for others if that's what they like and feel comfortable with. 'Get on wit' yo bad self.' I mean, 'Grooovy, man.'
It must be the fact that, in my mind, we are so un-hippie-like, for my ex-boss to categorize us that way had me baffled. I can sort of see where he got that take on us. After all, we did grow up in the sixties, I do make beads and jewelry as a hobby and, in our retirement, we decided to live in an RV and be nomads for a while. That's hippie-like, right? But, I've yet to paint peace signs and L~O~V~E all over our Kia van and have successfully avoided most forms of tie-dye. (Though I am drawn to batiks from time to time...) I see my husband as a casual dresser--jeans or khakis and regular shirts, while I veer toward plain basics, but with strong boho leanings in the accessory arena. Aha, BOHO....that's hippie-ish, right??
We don't smoke dope or take illicit drugs for entertainment, and rarely even drink alcohol. Though we do like our nicotine (I know, I know), our daily drugs are just to keep our BP at a tolerable range and our thyroid from putting us into a coma. While hubby does have his annual Guinness and I've been known to be a bit too fond of champagne or Pino Grigio at past work Christmas parties, I haven't had a drop of any kind of wine in at least four years. It's not that we're 'goodie-two-shoes' or anything. And it's not to say we've never done a few things in our pasts we shouldn't have...at least nothing that we ever thought should be a permanent lifestyle choice. Not dull old us.
Actually we're rather boring, I guess. My husband's health precludes him from much physical activity and his immune system is impaired so he avoids crowds and gatherings, and I usually just hang out with him. We're inordinately fond of PBS, especially Masterpiece Classics and Mysteries. We enjoy The Voice, and Masterchef Junior. We watch a lot of movies. We binge-watch Downton Abbey, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Harry Potters, Doc Martin, and various other sets of movies my husband owns. Living on the road, we're very solitary; we've only met a few people along the way that we keep in touch with. We read a lot. I usually have two books going at the same time: a day book to carry outside and a night book to read myself to sleep. My husband is trying his hand at writing now and I make jewelry (which you see on the lower right sidebar).
My husband loves travel. He traveled a lot in his youth and wanted very much to see some of his favorite places again before we got too old, hence the RV lifestyle. But we're getting older now and it's getting rather tiring. Plus I get pretty claustrophobic and there is not much room in a motorhome. We've had some adventures, it's been interesting and there are things about life on the road I do like very much. I'm very grateful I got to see the Grand Canyon, the Badlands, and the indescribable beauty of Utah among many other places. I do appreciate that if we find ourselves somewhere that we aren't completely enthusiastic about (which usually involves either the weather or the other people around us), we can just secure everything down, turn the key in the ignition and head off somewhere else. I like not living in a busy, hectic city, but being close enough to one should I get a yen for the urban side of life. I like being able to look up at the sky at night and actually see that there are visible planets, a bazillion stars and the occasional meteor not obscured by light pollution. I enjoy the occasional sight of a big hawk or eagle soaring overhead, the hoot of owls in the dark, tiny lizards skittering across the rocks, or wild burros that will eat out of your hand. I like seeing mountains that look different every single day, depending on the position of the sun and quality of light. I love coming over the crest of a hill to suddenly see hazy distant ridges striated with every pastel color you can think of, against a sky so vividly blue as to look unreal. I appreciate not being so stressed out by life that I can absorb all this and actually see it, and be enthralled that we really do live in such an incredibly beautiful world. I love the knowledge that all this brings me that much closer to God every day.
Currently, we find ourselves in Southwestern Utah. To me, this area has everything desirable...breathtaking scenery, peace and quiet, incredibly nice people, exceptionally great weather and a wonderful little city only 15 miles from us. That small city (St. George) has tons of restaurants and shopping (I love to shop!), including my favorites: Michael's, Joanne Fabrics and an...ULTA! (The crafter and the makeup maniac in me rejoices!) My husband's tastes veer to Olive Garden and the Rib and Chop House. He's also pretty happy that you can't swing a cat without hitting some variety of burger joint. All this and so much more is in St. George. That may not sound like a big deal, but we've spent a lot of time in locales where the nearest Walmart was a 140 mile round trip. To be able to just zip down the highway to our favorite businesses in fifteen minutes is a luxury! The only things missing are Hobby Lobby, Sephora...and my family! I do miss my family so much it hurts. I wish so much I could share all this gorgeousness and serenity out here with them! If I could wave a magic wand, I'd relocate them all out here in the blink of an eye!
I guess if this lifestyle makes us old hippies, then I guess old hippies we are. But I really don't think so. I think we are just two ordinary people who love each other madly, love and miss our family and friends, and love a quiet life where we can embrace the amazing American West. Peace out.
Till next time,
“You can’t change how people feel about you so don’t try. Just live your life and be happy.”~~Unknown
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