Today is the last day in September and we had the first cold night. Summer is over, the winds are picking up and the October fairy is getting ready to paint all the leaves in beautiful reds and golds, so that we don’t forget why it’s called the “Golden October.”
That was fun. I had to look it up and come to find out, the charts in Austria -where I come from- started in 1965, two years after I was born. The realization, that I am older than the hit charts in my country made me laugh hard. Now I feel older than dirt.
I was raised on a farm in Austria, right on the boarder to Italy in a beautiful, idyllic mountain village. We had some cows, sheep’s and pigs and chickens everywhere. A farmers day starts early in the morning and doesn’t end before late at night. Everybody is needed -no exceptions, there is always something to do. We had acres of fruits trees and fields with potatoes and corn. Grass had to be mowed, fences had to be repaired and fruits had to be picked. The farms were not in calling distance; we had to drive to our neighbor’s house.
Dear young one,
It’s me, your older –much older- self and that’s good news, because as of today, you will at least live to be 51. So stay in shape, you have a long road ahead of you.
Life and death is a daily thing when you grow up on a farm. I watched eggs hatch, calves being born and I helped with all of it, from an early age on. I saw the butcher coming by, and even though I didn’t watch the actual “act” I knew what he was there for.
A musical playlist that describes my life, oh this is fun.
The start is easy. As cheesy as it might seem, it’s actually very close to reality. I was born in a small mountain village in the Alps between Austria and Italy. I grew up running and playing in green fields, surrounded by majestic mountains…even the dress looks familiar. A kind of Dirndl, a dress covered with an apron…oh the memories.
I am a “mountain girl” and I know a thing or two about hiking. I was born in a small village in the Alps, directly on the boarder between Italy and Austria, hiking was mandatory -not optional. There was an old joke going around about babies being born with hiking boots, skies and a backpack and I assume its still being told until this day. Not so far off the truth, I have been told I could ski before I actually walked.