goodbye

Thanks for taking the journey with me last year. I've started a new adventure for a new year. Check it out at www.wellnessbytheweek.blogspot.com

winding down

2010 is quickly coming to a close and so too my experiment. For me it feels complete, as I know I won't go back to the old TiVo/TV dependent person I was last year just because the new year clicks over. But there is some value in sticking with something through completion...so I will. Already I have a new blog in mind. No, I won't tell you what it is... just yet. I have to keep you in suspense for at least a little while.

how easily we forget

Have you ever noticed how we can completely forget the reality of our past experiences? Today was my second day of watching my grandkids 24/7 while their mommy and daddy are at the hospital. And today, as I sat exhausted and ready to toss the next child who screamed out the window, it hit me. I had forgotten. I'd forgotten what it was like to be a mommy and have someone constantly depending on you and needing you and wanting you. I had forgotten how tiring and challenging it could be and how it could try the patience of a saint.  How could I forget something like that? I mean, intellectually I still knew it. But I could no longer really feel what that experience was like. It made me wonder, what else have I forgotten? What other experiences can I no longer truly empathize with or conjure up in my emotional being? And how does that effect the decisions I make from day to day? If I can't remember what it's like to be in a love-relationship, how can I decide if I want to be in one again? If I can't remember what it felt like to work for a corporation, how will I keep my motivation going to run my own business? I guess the old saying "those who don't learn from the past are doomed to repeat it" applies. So my goal is to keep a clear memory of why my life is where it is today, and not be tricked by forgetfulness to retrace old roads that I've already traveled or be forced to relearn lessons already learned!

Milestones

Today was a milestone day; the day we welcome my third grandchild, Sidney Belle, into the world. You know what I mean by a landmark day-weddings, funerals, births, first kisses, last goodbyes, etc. In the midst of today, I can't help wondering how our lives will change from here on out. I don't think we ever fully realize just how much one of these momentous events will affect ever day that comes after it. But then if we could see how our lives would shift and morph, we would be called psychics or fortune tellers. How will this little girl change our lives and the lives of those around us? Will she be funny like Nate and make us laugh continually? Or will she be serious and thoughtful like Roo? There is no way to know. But it sure will be fun finding out!

has it helped

As I look back on 10 months of TV-free living, I wonder how it has shaped my life? For instance, when the flood happened would I have reacted differently if I had had the option of vegging out in front of the TV instead of going out to help with flood recovery? Might I have chosen to sit at home and wait for my old job to reopen instead of working my butt of to start a new business? I suppose there is no real way to know what choices I might have made differently. But I tend to think it has affected things for the good. I still haven't gotten on a workout program like I'd hoped. But I am building a successful practice and doing a lot more with my photography. And I'm getting out and doing things more with friends. I like that. I like the directions it has led me in so far.

What a day!

I am hoping today our family used up it's bad luck for the month. Two-year-old Nate came down with an ear infection. Seven-year-old Riley lost her diabetes kit with her meter and insulin. And my daughter-in-law is due to deliver her baby on Friday. She was understandably upset by this and several other things that left her a little ragged. We got everything taken care of: meds for the little one, new kit for the older one and everything else will get worked out. But we are certainly hoping for calmer waters and smoother sailing in the days to come so we can thoroughly enjoy the arrival of Miss Sidney Belle and savor the moments as they unfold!

new technology

Well I have a new little piece of technology that I hope will help me to write/blog more consistently. It is an Epic 4G phone. I would not call myself a techno-phobe, but I can be technically-challenged and often have to ask my son to figure out why the DVD player or some other piece of electronic equipment will not behave as I have come to expect. So this is a big step for me. I have been experimenting with different apps and features and was feeling pretty good about the ability this old dog was showing in learning a new trick or two...that is until the phone rang! And try as I might, no amount of stabbing at the touch screen seemed to work. Well, on the next call I did figure it out. But that was enough to keep me from getting a swelled head over my tech prowess. Now I'm just praying my smart phone is not too much smarter than me!