It’s
that time of the year again when people make lists of things they want to
change in the coming year. Sometimes
they actually cross things off but more often than not the list is forgotten by
mid-March and things stay the same. Don’t
get me wrong I’m just like those people I’m talking about; only most of the
time I don’t even make it to March!
So what
makes 2014 any different? A few weeks
before Dad died we got into one of our “discussions” about him signing up for
Medicare & going into a nursing home.
Out of nowhere he yells “What’s the point then?” That caught me
completely off guard because I had no idea what in the world he was talking
about. He couldn’t understand why he
bothered to keep the rental & get the reverse mortgage (he didn’t think he’d
ever pay off the house & knew I couldn’t afford it) if he was just going to
be forced to give everything away just because he was dying. ...and if that wasn’t a kick in the teeth the
other day I was talking to someone about the “mountain” of things he needed to
figure out & (He’s always telling me if you don’t like the way things are
find a way to change them.) I asked him how he was going to manage to get it
all done. He laughed and said “The same
way I tacked that steak the other day – one bite at a time.”
Ironically
the first bite is my health. This past
year I’ve put on somewhere between 12-18 extra pounds, my hair has been falling
out by the fistfuls & I’ve made 2 “extra” doctor appointments due to
diabetic complications. In my head I
know the majority of it has been the stress of the last couple of years, not
being able to afford my meds, &
getting off all the “better” eating habits I’d worked so hard on but frankly I
just like the way I feel (let alone look).
I’ve already started working on saving the hair (that sounds funny
coming from me doesn’t it J
) so it’s time for the overall health. I’ve
made up my mind that I want the weight loss surgery, now I need to start making
the calls, going to the seminars & doing the work to make it happen. I’ve dusted off the Wii & started playing
it again and have had a couple of sessions with Shawn T (fun but Hip Hop Abs
was not made for people with all this extra body!). I know I have to work on “everything in
moderation” & a few other things but …one bite at a time right?
It’s
time I stop thinking of NC as a stepping stone to where I want to be. I’ve been here since ’96; this is home
now. That means it’s time to stop
renting and find a place of my own. I’d
love to get out of my present situation asap but I know that’s not going to
happen. I need to find my “forever” home
& I need to do it right. That means
finally figuring out what my financial situation is, fix it & go from
there. I’m in the process of working
through the paperwork for a program a co-worker told me about. If anyone has any suggestions, tips, inside
information – don’t be shy; I need all the help I can get!
I’m
also not putting things off anymore.
That train trip to DC – it’s time to start planning it. I’ve always wanted to go to Nashville,
Savannah, the NFL Hall of Fame (how is it all the trips to C’town & I never
made it??) hell even Amish Country…. the list is almost endless! The point is there are still things I want to
cross off my bucket list & I just bought a new pen! Let’s see DC in 2014, Nashville or Alaska
2015? Time to stop working just to live
but to have something to live for.
…to paraphrase
a line from RENT: 2014 it’s gonna be a
good year.
