Changing Me With The New Season
Spring is coming. So far March has been mostly blustery and the past few days have been gray. We have gotten some beautiful spring like days that have served to remind me of days to come. The crocus and daffodils are in bloom. I am anxious to pack up the sweaters and pull out the warm weather clothes. Soon it will be warm enough to get the kayaks back in the water and spend time outside. I am seeing and hearing more birds and I know soon will see the twitterpated squirrels dancing around the yard.
I am also thinking about what there is to prepare. It is almost time to ready our small garden plot for planting vegetables (which to be fully honest, I will then proceed to ignore for most of the season). The flower beds will need weeding and mulching. I am looking forward to the day I can throw open all the windows and bring in the fresh spring air and pack away all remnants of winter.
Spring brings new life, new thoughts, new goals. I have been focusing on newness in my career; it is now time to work on a makeover for my body, For too long, I have been carrying around extra weight. Now that I am hitting a milestone age, I know it is time to get serious about losing it. I want to make sure that I do what I can to improve the odds that I will be around for years to come. Writing about my next stage in life has helped me find a career direction; hopefully writing about this will help me find a solution for my body as well.
My age I know is making my body conspire against me to make this all more difficult. My lifestyle and diet could be better. I have started to work on that. I am not yet back to my old habit of walking daily, but am walking more often. I have made some changes to our diet, but need to focus on that more. I know that both of these will make a difference, and I need to do more as well. I know there are programs out there to help but don’t really think they are for me. I don’t do well with boot camp style encouragement and am not comfortable with any classes that happen in mirrored rooms. However, I could use encouragement from a buddy, to get me out and moving. The dog has taken it upon herself to try to fill that role. I need to listen to her more.
I am also trying to become more social. For years, my social life revolved around my children’s activities. Now those activities are done, and I am finding myself spending too much time inside, like a hermit. This is not a role I like at all and this needs to change. With the new season, I look forward to news of street fairs and similar events. I need to make plans for fun, even if it means penciling in a trip to a local lake for an afternoon of kayaking or a nearby park for some hiking. This can actually serve both goals. If anyone local has any ideas to share, I’d love to hear about them.