Wake Up!

I took a bit of a blog break.  Not sure if anyone out there noticed. It wasn't intentional, but I think it was needed.  My creative well had grown a bit dry and writing was losing its oomph. Nothing like a little living to get the creative juices flowing again.  

I won't make any promises about the frequency of my posts, lest I disappoint my many fans --- all two of you:)  --- but I will say I will try to post at least once a week.  I'm sure some weeks I'll be more prolific and others I might be lucky to get one post up --- hey, I'm only human:)

One thing I gained from my time away from the keyboard (not sure how it ended up being close to six months!) is a better understanding of my priorities.  Taking time to identify the things that matter most to me has helped me to focus more on the things that energize rather than drain me.  

“What if you wake up some day, and you’re 65, or 75, and you never got your memoir or novel written; or you didn’t go swimming in warm pools and oceans all those years because your thighs were jiggly and you had a nice big comfortable tummy; or you were so strung out on perfectionism and people pleasing that you forgot to have a big, juicy creative life…of imagination and radical silliness and staring off into space like when you were a kid?  It’s going to break your heart.  Don’t let this happen.”

Anne Lamott 

I am fast approaching a "big" birthday next year and it's been sort of a wakeup call for me. My littles are growing up faster than ever and soon the first one will be leaving the nest.  Being intentional about the time I spend with them has become a top priority.  I have wasted a lot of days and hours I can't get back on the stuff that doesn't matter. Learning to say "no" to things is hard for a people pleaser like me, but there is no other option.

Up until recently, I tended to live life quietly on the sidelines --- bogged down with worry and what ifs --- but no more.  Slowly I have begun making an effort to put myself "out there" a bit more. I have been making friends and trying things I might have avoided in the past.  It's been scary and way out of my comfort zone, but there is no denying the payoff has been worth it.

The bottom line is I am still a work in progress and I will be until I leave this crazy world.  My prayer is that the best is yet to come and living life "out loud" doing those things that bring me and my family joy will make my next fifty years the icing on the cake.