Ever since I was a small child, I would dream of having a successful career, money to buy nice things I wanted, and getting as far away from the mountains of Tennessee as I could get.
In 1974 I graduated High School and went on to further my education. I ended up as an intern at Wall Street in 1984. My life went from what would I have for supper to “how many more hours can I squeeze in my day and what can I take to live off 3-4 hours of sleep per day to make extra money” thoughts. It was a rhetorical cycle I knew I couldn’t keep up with a lifetime, It was too much, too hectic and too drama-filled running from one high pressure big rigged scenario to another and trying to keep tabs on all the ledgers, buying, selling and not to mention the fights that broke out constantly and dozens of arrests daily.
Here I am 36 years later longing to go back to a simple life. My health is failing, my kids are grown and my mother is elderly and my dad’s already gone. I really understand what the phrase “stop and smell the roses” means. I literally took no time when I was young to enjoy my life, like my family, used to with long suppers around the dinner table with family and then out to the long porch to sit and allow our food time to digest while we told ole wives tales and lives a normal yet peaceful life.
Being 56 years old and having saved enough to live my retirement in peace I start my journey looking for something back in the Tennessee Mountains to go back to. I don’t want to buy a quaint ranch style home on one acre and simply garden, do laundry, and wait to die as many others do. That’s not my cup of tea. I want some middle-age adventure. I went online to try and find my solace. Here’s what I’ve found that’s left me Star-struck!
I have seen this amazing old victorian manor called The Moffitt Manor, it’s been put up for sale just today by its former owners and it almost makes my mouth water at the thought of owning this beauty. After all, it’s been completely renovated and all I’d need to do is move in and open up an event venue and my B&B is already in place to work and make extra income plus enjoy my mature life where I belong.
There’s no drama, gangs, low crime rates, very little corona, and no riots in these hills. It’s close enough to Nashville if I get bored I can jump in my car and enjoy Music City and come back home. Also, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a couple of hours away also and that’s also an enjoyable memory for me. Also, I love the Amish neighbors I grew up near. Miss Ruby still bakes her famous pies and cakes, Howard still sells his farm fresh eggs, milk and organic non-GMO meats and vegetables to die for. My head is spinning with ideas! I could open a resell barkery in the lower part of this Historical Mansion and do a wedding venue and B&B. The area is a hot attraction anyway for hiking and nature areas.
I watch John Hagee, an Ohio based pastor and he often cracks me up making these sneed remarks and dry jokes. He’s very point-blank. Today he said don’t spend your health to gain your wealth because one day you will spend your wealth to regain your health. This little heavyset man is pure wisdom. Take it from someone who has done both, me.
I am going to purchase me a plane ticket to Tennessee to visit The Moffitt Manor and I will let everyone know in a couple of months how my plants to return to a normal life progresses.
