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Thoseof you who know me somewhat here on cd know that I have chickens, goats [that I delivered , fed, and now milk by hand.] We have bees and I spend most hours of the day in my garden [or putting things up from the garden] playing with my animals,gazing at the mountains, working on improving my patio and double decker deck, teaching children about plants and rocks, bbqing food, playing cornhole and horseshoes and just loving everything outside.
I was drinking my mega-pint of coffee on the patio this morning and it suddenly hit me that people who read my posts most likely assume that I've always been an 'outdoorsy" type of woman. nothing could be further from the truth.
When I was a little girl, like most kids of my generation, during the summer I would do my chores and then sent out to play. We came home at noon for a peanut butter sandwich and a dixie cup of Kool-aid then sent back out to play until dinnertime.
problem was, this was before sunblocks and I had super sensitive skin. I had sunburn on sunburn on top of sunburn, and always had some gooey liquid seeping from my skin. I would ask my mom if I could come inside and was told no. So, I already equated the outdoors with pain.
To make matters worse, something else happened that turned me into a "indoors only" girl for DECADES. Once a year our family spent the day at the Museum of Natural History, city Park for a picnic and then the Zoo in the afternoon. Except for when my grandpa would visit, it was my favorite day of the year.
I remember it was already hot in our non-airconditioned car on the way to the museum and I didn't really enjoy the museum that year [except, of course the Dinosaur bones. Feeling sick could not prevent enjoying that] When we went to the park afterwards for lunch I remember that the food- that I had helped plan for and prepare- tasted bad.
By the time we got to the zoo my head had started to throb and I had trouble keeping up with the rest of the family. After a few hours I felt that my head was about to burst, my eyes felt like they were on fire.
The last thing I heard was my older brother saying "You better not puke. If you puke I'll make you eat it again like last time."
The next thing I remember was being in a tub filled with ice water. I was dry heaving and my head was still in excruciating pain. I had heat stroke.
The doctor said that I needed to stay indoors. That's when my mom started allowing us to play in the basement.
I still to this day do not know whether it was psychologically induced or a long-term effect of the sun stroke, but when I went outside in hot weather I would get nauseated and my head would hurt. So, I totally avoided the outdoors.
When I married the first time [18 years before he passed] I would think that maybe I should plant a flower garden but never did. A few veggies that I would take care of early in the morning but that's about it.
When I moved back to Colorado, neighbors offered seeds and starts that I politely declined. So, this went on for many years and I stayed in my house in the summer sitting in front of the swamp cooler.
When my son got sick we moved to a nudist resort in colorado for about 4 years and rented out our house. We ran the ice cream shop, which was right beside the swimming pool. I always wore heavy asunblock, a big floppy hat, and always had the fan going in the shop. It was NICE not having to wear clothing, because for people with wiring similar to my son and me, clothes hurt [all fabrics hurt, but some hurt less] and Mounain Air Ranch is in the mountains, beautiful mountains, and that is when i first, finally, started to love the outdoors.
So, as much as I love everything outdoors NOW, I was in my fifties before I could enjoy the outdoors. And now, I thrive in the outdoors.
And I assume that most cd people who have read my posts assume I have always been this way. Anything but!
So, it made me wonder if there are others who have a lifestyle preference in their "golden years" that are totally opposite of their those wen they were younger?
Last edited by vicky3vicky; 06-07-2022 at 05:03 PM..
I grew up outside of a small town, went to a small school, few people around to be friends with. Always thought I'd end up in a city. Not a big city but still a city. Did that for about 10 yrs or so (Binghamton, NY). Moved back to a small town (not the same one), then to the country. Now live outside of another small town. Would actually prefer the country again but not practical at my age.
So, it made me wonder if there are others who have a lifestyle preference in their "golden years" that are totally opposite of their those wen they were younger?
A lot can happen to us during a lifetime: we no longer live where we did as youngsters, our interests and passions change as we are exposed to the world, and we accumulate all sorts of little injuries that can affect our golden years. I was an outdoorsy kid and young adult and pursued a profession that was also focused on the outdoor world. I loved it then and still do. However, due to the mileage I've put on this aging frame I am less able to enjoy it. Doesn't mean I don't try, but the manner in which I do has simply changed. There's no right or wrong answer here OP.
Nudist resort???
Now THAT surprised me …..lol
care to elaborate?
We were members at Mountain Air Ranch, which is both the only grounded nudist resort in Colorado and the second oldest in the nation. We ran the ice cream shop for 15 years or so. We had most of our ice cream custom made by a place in lakewood. We had dozens of flavors, and our most loved were our fried ice cream, my homemade hot fudge, and a milkshake we referred to as the MAR drink. It was fun and visitors would tell us that when they were deciding between different resorts to visit, the reputation of our ice cream shop was one of the deciding factors[ we also won the title of 'friendliest nudist resort" 2 years in a row, so there's that]
We were members for a long time and lived there year round in a large [slept 9, but we only had near that many in there during AutHaven]travel trailer for about 4 years.
Bobby had been talking about how he'd like to go there for a couple of years. I had told him no way. I picured orgies and old hippies frolicking naked in the mountains. I looked up the website and was APPALLED that there were children there. I remember thinking that it was alright if adults wanted to go there but that it was borderline abuse to bring their kids.
Anyway, one day Bobby had some super upsetting news. I tried to cheer him up with all the little ways that women use to cheer their husbans up and Bobby was too upset to be interested.So, I said, 'Okay, I'll go with you ONE TIME to that place. We'll rent a room in the lodge [kitchen, living room and bathrooms are common rooms] I will stay in the room we rent and you can run around and be naked." Bobby said "You just cheered me up."
I so dreaded that visit, but being typical Autistic I am anal about keeping my word so a couple of weekeds later we visited for that one time.
When we walked ino the office there was a woman, Nancy, working there. We had spoken on the phone earlier and she had been very gracious in addressing my fears. I started feeling a bit more relaxed when the manager, Bob, walked in and he was totally naked. My knees buckled and bobby had to keep me from falling.
So, Nancy called for someone to give us a tour, a really nice guy named Mike [okay, depressing myself because every person I have mentioned so far is deceased] who showed us around in a golf cart. Months later Mike told me it was his only tour he ever gave with someone shaking like a leaf and covering their eye during the entire tour.
So, after the tour we went to our room. I had brought books to read and Bobby pointed out a balcony I could dit on, fully dressed, if I chose to.He left for the pool and I sat with a book on the balcony.The scenery was beautiful and I watched as people drove golf carts on the road up to the clubhouse, restaurant and swimming pool. Every person, without exception smiled and waved.
So, I decided to check out the common areas in the lodge were I met a real nice guy[ken]cutting fruit for sangrias. He was behind the kitchen island so I couldn't see his naked body. After we talked a bit he urged me to join Bobby and that he was sure it would make Bobby happy. So I did [and it made Bobby happy]
I sat, fully dressed, with Bobby by the pool for awhile. Nudist ettiquette forbids staring and so I put on sunglasses and did some people watching. I made some very intersting observations.
First, I was surprised about how attractive the old people were. I had heard so many negative things about old bodies, and the biggest difference I could see was that their skin seemed to fit more loosely on their bodies.
On the other side of the pool were a group of men. I noticed that their friendly responses were the same to the 300 pound women as they were to the "miss Januarys".
And I noticed the kids. Tons of kids. And they were having such fun, but it was a relaxed and self accepting and inclusive atmosphere. Until we became involved with children in Autistic groups they were the most accepting group of kids I'd ever seen.
I got in a conversation with one of the mothers who told me that there was probably no place safer than MAR because every child had several hundred people watching to make sure that nothing bad appened to them.
I checked out the kids room, which was AMAZING, the kids schedule, also amazing.
When I went back to the loungechair I took off my clothes which was awesome because I hate clothes.
After dinner at the restaurant we went back to the lodge. I told Bobby that on Monday I had to call LJ's psychiatrist. He asked why and i told him that I thought we should ask him about becoming members because it seemed such a great place for a child, particularly a 'creatively wired " child like LJ.
So, that is the story about our first time and why we stayed members for a couple of deccades.
I'm sure we would still be members if we hadn;t moved so far away after retirement.
We were members at Mountain Air Ranch, which is both the only grounded nudist resort in Colorado and the second oldest in the nation.
...
So, that is the story about our first time and why we stayed members for a couple of deccades.
I'm sure we would still be members if we hadn;t moved so far away after retirement.
.
What a 'revealing' post- ha ha! I think people wear clothes (besides reasons for warmth and protection) to demonstrate who they are or want to be. What would the world be like if clothes were stripped away (another ha ha!) and left people vulnerable and exposed as simply who they are, without any pretensions?
What a 'revealing' post- ha ha! I think people wear clothes (besides reasons for warmth and protection) to demonstrate who they are or want to be. What would the world be like if clothes were stripped away (another ha ha!) and left people vulnerable and exposed as simply who they are, without any pretensions?
or maybe everyone could wear a uniform.
I see clothes more as an expression of one's personality than as a status. but that's just me.
A lot can happen to us during a lifetime: we no longer live where we did as youngsters, our interests and passions change as we are exposed to the world, and we accumulate all sorts of little injuries that can affect our golden years. I was an outdoorsy kid and young adult and pursued a profession that was also focused on the outdoor world. I loved it then and still do. However, due to the mileage I've put on this aging frame I am less able to enjoy it. Doesn't mean I don't try, but the manner in which I do has simply changed. There's no right or wrong answer here OP.
Same here. I would have loved to retire into the same life I had before: horseback riding, river rafting and hiking. But the old intractable joints put a stop to that. It's even more irritating that many of our same-age friend are still doing that stuff! Grrrrr. Some down here are still surfing!
But we retired away from those activities anyway. Now it's a sedate walk on the beach and hopefully enjoying travel again if things ever settle down. I do miss those hobbies though.
I see clothes more as an expression of one's personality than as a status. but that's just me.
I think most clothes are chosen as an expression of how the wearer wants others to see them. That can include status, sexual availability, personality, and more.
I worked at a university. Every fall, kids would come from all over, dressed as they imagined big city college kids dressed. Bold colors, trendy fashions, boys in skirts; it was fun to see them.
But by January, they had all joined the herd, and everybody wore tee shirts and jeans. The campus became a sea of indigo and gray. Kids who wanted to stand out might wear a red tee shirt. The outdoorsy types wore dark green. Sooooo boring!
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