Preparing For the Next Stage

For the last 3 years, Larry and I have been on a quest to find our retirement home. Larry will retire next spring and as much as I love Pittsburgh, we will not remain there. We will retire in Georgia, specifically the north Georgia mountains. We will be close to Tennessee as well as North Carolina. In fact, our first focal point was Murphy, NC.

People ask us Why Georgia? The short answer is that we've traveled a lot and we've always liked the area. The longer answer gets more involved and less succinct. We've given up trying to live close to anyone. Our families are so far-flung that living near the kids was only doable if you chose one kid. But I think a lot of the answer has to do with the fact that while we've lived many places over the years, it was always dictated by where work was. This time we had a chance to choose a place just because we liked it.

Initially we were looking to see what kind of housing was available and the price range. The more we looked the more we zeroed in on what really suited us. Last fall I spent one day with our realtor. In 12 hours we drove 300 miles and looked at 10 homes, none of which worked for us. It was exhausting!

This summer we found it. It was a charming 'cabin in the woods', albeit a really nice 'cabin'! The entire house is wrapped in a large, covered porch. The house even came with a hammock, a porch swing and 4 porch rockers just beckoning us to come sit, rock, and sip a glass of iced tea. When you find what you are looking for you grab it, and we did.

While the place is lightly landscaped and has plenty of trees, I think we will be adding a couple that have a special place in our heart. There is a fenced in back yard that is just right for a little apple tree to take root. There are plenty of deer, but I think it will be well-protected. And I'm sure it will thrive once it gets out of that pot and can spread its roots.

Another tree will take root there too. When my daughter's best friend, Liz, married Tim in an outdoor ceremony in North Carolina, the wedding guests were each given a Norfolk Pine seedling as party favors. We brought our seedlings home and nurtured them. The seedlings thrived and many years later they have grown into a lovely potted tree. I think it is time to return it to the wild as it was intended.

Retirement is still several months away, but we are ready for it to arrive. When it does, this little place will be the perfect place for a pine tree, an apple tree, and us to stretch our roots, and grow.