Within the last year, my husband and I both left our teaching jobs at a university. I had been there off and on for 6.5 years, while he had been there 16. Someone who tried to contact him was told by the university that we had “retired.” We found that quite amusing and even slightly offensive. Retiring is what old people do. I’m the gal who keeps throwing away membership pitches from AARP and coloring my hair so I never see any gray. Like most baby boomers we refuse to grow old, and saying we’re retired is like admitting we’re old.

Plus, we’re working harder than ever. We write books, articles, and blogs. We wonder how we ever had time to teach. The difference now is that we have total freedom in planning our time.

As I write this, we are about halfway through a cross-country trip in our RV that has included two weeks in beautiful Eastern Washington. Best of all, we’ve purchased 27 acres of gorgeous land in the amazing town of Kettle Falls, enabling us to return every summer, seeing the country, bicycling in as many states as we can, and then taking in the breathtaking beauty of our new summer home. The photo above was taken near our land and shows Lake Roosevelt in the background.

Our business is portable. Have Internet, will travel.

I’m still reluctant to accept a label that makes me feel old.

But if this is “retirement,” I’ll take it.