How's That New Life Diet Working For Ya?

Courtesy B. Creasy

Ok, fraidy cats. Time to 'fess up'. A week ago, I encouraged us all toward a kinder, gentler 'life diet'. Sounded easier than it is, didn't it? In the spirit of true confessions, I'll confess. I've taken 2 steps forward and 3 backward some days. Other days, I've taken 3 forward and 2 backward. If I gave in to my fraidy cat nature, I'd throw my hands up in the air, declare this newly born year a disaster in the making, and give up till next year this time.

I can tell how far I've come since last May. Can you? Here's a clue: I am not giving in to my fraidy cat nature. Life keeps on happening till you are not here for it to happen anymore. Our job between now and then is to face the horizon and keep walking. So, I have. Instead of declaring the year over before it began, I decided to be kinder and gentler to me. That decision enabled me to regroup and keep on moving when life happened too fast for me to keep up. 

Courtesy Mad Penguin Creative

Goal #1 was to grade my daily relationship 'report card' using the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. I know I struggle the most with showing patience. However, the fact that Son #2 lived to tell about coming down at midnight for a snack tells you I've made some progress in this area! He'd tell you I was totally unloving. I'd tell you he wasn't bleeding after our encounter. Get my drift? Stay tuned as I continue to grade my report card.

Goal #2 involved thinking through short term and long term goals and working on 3 short term ones this last week. I thought through the goals with fear and trepidation. You know how afraid I am of goals coming back to haunt me. For the 1^st time in a LONG time, I didn't feel quite so afraid of life jumping up and biting me for having the courage to try.

The short term goals? That's where all that backward and forward motion came in! I exercised 4 days instead of 5. I did track my eating

Courtesy M. Horrocks

but not as closely as I'd hoped. However, I did lose 6 pounds this week. I'd dance a jig but that's only half of what I gained since August. I'll save the dancing till I'm back to square 1! 

 

The post-Christmas de-cluttering is well underway but not done as I'd hoped. I didn't even TOUCH the desk drawers I'd hoped to re-organize. I decided to call the unfinished goals 'job security'.

Today, just under the wire, I managed to carve out time to make the conference call to my writer friend in Wisconsin. I really didn't want to have to tell you people that I didn't get that done either! You are such demanding task masters. Oh wait. That task master would be me, wouldn’t it?

Courtesy and in Loving Memory of Christina Jones Hooker

My final goal for the week was to work toward getting more rest. Stop. I hear you laughing. Yes, I know it is 1 AM. Yes, I know it is routinely 1-3 AM before I manage to slow down enough to sleep. But, I AM working on it. I AM. I've actually closed my eyes by midnight a couple times in the last 7 days.

As I head on off toward the rest of the year, things are looking up. I owe that to you and to friends who are taking this journey along with me. Today, as Colleen and I met via Skype to discuss the state of our writing careers, we commiserated about our fears. As we began to troll the internet for writing work, I suddenly began to feel encouraged. Having her along to look at things with me made EVERYTHING we looked at look a lot LESS scary. How cool is that?

Courtesy Mad Penguin Creative

Even tho' it hurts to admit I didn't hit all my goals again, I am exuberant that I was able to SET some goals and move toward them. You and I both know I couldn't have done so last year this time if my life depended on it! While I was not getting some of my goals zipped up and checked off, I was working with friends toward other goals that I didn't even envision last week this time. Life is about give and take. I get that now. Do you? Once you do, it is a lot easier to embrace this kinder, gentler life diet.

What have I been tellin' ya, fraidy cat? I told you we needed each other. I told you this little part of cyberspace was a safe place to come in from the cold. Even tho' I had no idea where we were headed, I knew if we kept walking together, things were going to look a lot better before we got where we were going. So, why don't you keep on walking with me a while longer? 

Life is hard. It's scary. It's lonely. Most of the time, you can't tell anyone how afraid you are or how hard you feel like you are paddling to stay afloat. You have to keep your mask on, or someone will know what an imposter you are. Not here, fraidy cat. Not here. We are all in recovery here. Masks not required to hang out with those who are inhabiting this little corner of fraidy cat nation. 

 

Courtesy B. Creasy

Love you long and strong. See you real soon. Or, I'll have no choice but to come looking for you! ;-)

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Two are better than one, because they have a good [more satisfying] reward for their labor; For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie down together, then they have warmth; but how can one be warm alone? And though a man might prevail against him who is alone, two will withstand him. A threefold cord is not quickly broken.