Today is the day!

So......here it is!!! The day I've been waiting for -- I AM AM AM in the prime of my life!

I had a great walk with a friend today. She asked what was the best thing about the last year, aside from NOT moving halfway across the country. After she reminded me of that, which probably was the best thing, I couldn't think of any one thing that was great about last year. So, then she wanted to know what was going to be great about this year. As I told her...

I just think this is going to be a good year. Part of it is just attitude. I have a really loving husband, who is very good to me, and a blessed life. I may have my beefs with it from time to time, but I am more grounded right now in how lucky I am than what I might want to change.

As for "WHAT" I am going to do this year - well, I'm a little distressed that I haven't picked any one thing. I guess I thought that it would reveal itself to me. And I suppose, if I had to say, it would just be in a better place in terms of my health. That may mean any number of things, certainly more conscious about diet, adding and committing to more regular exercise, losing weight (separate/addition to from conscious eating), and getting up to date with medical checkups: physical (new doctor), opthamologist, mammogram, possibly colonoscopy. Checked off dermatologist this fall, but need to make that an annual thing.

SO - I suppose that is what I mean by being in the PRIME of my life - feeling good. And feeling good about myself. There are many other components to that, and to that end I am going to focus each month on one thing. That will give me 12 months of things.

JANUARY: Mandalas. For some reason, they have grabbed me again, I just loaded up with materials for them, so on we go. I might have to post some pictures too.....

Here's to prime living!

Entering my PRIME

I am not much of a "new year's resolution" type. However, I often consider the end of January "my" new year. Why? January 31st is my birthday. So this is the time of year that I consider what I want the next year to look like. (One thing I don't seem to do is look back over my year and see how it went. Maybe with this blog I'll make it easier for myself.)

Turns out, I think this is going to be a monumental year. Why? I am turning 46, which means I'm entering my 47th year. 47 is PRIME.....so I am in the PRIME of my LIFE!!! Just acknowledging this has helped. It changes my outlook on many things.

I went to one class at church early this year that got me thinking about how the outlook on life matters. It was a class on aging, and we went around the room as an intro, each answering one of three questions. One of the questions was: "My favorite age is/was: ______". Wow!!! I immediately thought of ages in my past. Certainly not now - this isn't what I thought I'd be doing (more about that later). Plus, physically I don't feel great. Even more startling was the response to that question. Those who chose to answer it (not me) usually responded with "my favorite age is right now". Right now?!?!? These were people in their 50s, 60s, 70s and beyond, not particularly remarkable, not particularly fit or not fit, a wide range of income levels and employment statuses. Wow, what a great way to feel - and why shouldn't they? Honestly, I hadn't even considered that as an option. Turns out, the basis for this question is that people who feel this way tend to live longer and tend to function better for longer. Perhaps it is interesting that the class was taught by my husband.

So, for the past few weeks, I have been thinking about what this year will look like. I need to approach life differently - act as if THIS is the prime of my life! What would that look like? Should I "commit" myself to something - some project, some hobby, some change - for the whole year and see how that pans out? I can come up with so many things! Yoga - imagine if I did a whole year's worth of yoga - that could be transformative. Running - I could step it up, so to speak. Eating breakfast (or lunch, or 3 meals a day) - but really, what would I have to say about that for a year? Should I finally seek out regular employment? Mandalas...my favorite form of artwork....that could be expansive. I could go on and on...knitting....reading....non-profit management...art classes....journaling....

The reality is, I have too many things going on and too many interests. But underlying all this is a fairly recent understanding of myself as ADD. Really, I could just focus on that for the year, and let the rest come. But I don't really know where to start.

So, that being said, bring it on. I don't know what to bring on -- the mandalas are calling this week.

I probably need to pin down some sort of plan - that is one of the challenges for me. Planning - and sticking to it. Discipline is not natural for ADD folks. It might be better just to have a checklist of things I want to do/try. I have two days...... and then, I WILL BE IN THE PRIME OF MY LIFE!!!