Starting Anew
Hi everyone. Long time no post! Belated Happy New Year to all!
Biggest news is that I crossed the retirement finish line on Monday. My boss this last years was a UK-based woman (RL), so my previous boss MAG (formerly BSG) made the remarks at my going away cake party and walked me out. Strange arrangement by the Universe but it felt OK and right. I brought in some cupcakes made by a gal from hs who runs her own cake business. My most recent boss of 13 years before MAG (KS) came to see me and seemed sincere; I felt like I laid down the hatchet I'd been guarding myself with around him for the past 4 years, and I am grateful for that release.
The event was surreal and it is still not really real yet. I was completely exhausted from pulling late nights trying to finish some things, save files, capture calendar/contacts/etc. Then on Tues S flew in on short notice to get a 2nd opinion from ortho specialist after a snowboarder crashed into her last week. There were logistics to get her downtown from the airport and Weds I went to her appt with her, bought some groceries and helped her transfer to my house to spend the afternoon/evening catching up. She left early yesterday morning (Thurs 9th) when a friend driving through picked her up and took her home.
As it happened, I didn't get a real nights' sleep for about 10 days until last night. I'm far behind on my goal to walk 100 miles in January and I haven't yet been on the scale to get a starting weight. I have eaten wayy too many cupcakes and nothing fits. BUT I'm taking it in stride and giving myself slack. I am doing what needs to be done, one step at a time. Medical insurance paperwork snafus, setting up a new calendar since I lost access (have settled on gmail for now even though I detest the cloud.) I also had a crown (tooth) started yesterday. I'm glad that I didn't book a midmonth trip. The end of the month is now the plan for going to see my Dad in FL with C#1. Still keeping a lengthy trip to AZ on the radar for midFeb/March May look into RV options and have to figure out how to do this with KDog.
What has been on my mind a lot is how important it will be to maintain boundaries and keep moving every day towards living my best life. I have this "that's what friends are for" and people pleaser mindset and bend over backwards to make other people happy, often at my own expense. For example, C#1 really doesn't move at the speed of life which works for me, - regardless of the legitimate reasons. I hope to do a better job of listening to the Universe - and my heart - going forward. The last number of years I have stopped listening while focused on surviving this job (and my house of horrors). It is an exciting challenge to reignite my life and I am grateful for the opportunity.
One last thing. I took particularly inspiration last week from a woman's comment. She spoke of how difficult it was to organize all of her clutter. She'd even hired someone and spent hours trying to come up witih solutions to the problem. Then, in an epiphany, she realized that the clutter itself was the problem. The timing was perfect as it came while I was smuggling paper files out of my office and going through tens of thousands of electronic emails and files trying to decide what was important and necessary. The key is recognizing that hanging on to clutter in the event you might want to use/refer to something again, isn't worth it if the item is something you could acquire again or even improve upon. Keeping momentos and reminders is also getting more burdensome as I get older. Oh, the thousands upon thousands of unorganized photos. Then there is the entire non-physical clutter, which is perhaps even my biggest enemy. Collecting good intentions, to do's etc., weighs me down heavily and is a great source of guilt. I mean to call my Aunt, my college roommates, my brother, my cousin J, my friend I, etc. and the list gets longer and longer and I get deeper and deeper. Taking care of things promptly is a good way to combat this.
So...with that, I say here's to new beginnings, renewed energy, freedom from clutter, and hope. May you all have a blessed and fulfilling 2020. - Mol
Hi everyone. Long time no post! Belated Happy New Year to all!
Biggest news is that I crossed the retirement finish line on Monday. My boss this last years was a UK-based woman (RL), so my previous boss MAG (formerly BSG) made the remarks at my going away cake party and walked me out. Strange arrangement by the Universe but it felt OK and right. I brought in some cupcakes made by a gal from hs who runs her own cake business. My most recent boss of 13 years before MAG (KS) came to see me and seemed sincere; I felt like I laid down the hatchet I'd been guarding myself with around him for the past 4 years, and I am grateful for that release.
The event was surreal and it is still not really real yet. I was completely exhausted from pulling late nights trying to finish some things, save files, capture calendar/contacts/etc. Then on Tues S flew in on short notice to get a 2nd opinion from ortho specialist after a snowboarder crashed into her last week. There were logistics to get her downtown from the airport and Weds I went to her appt with her, bought some groceries and helped her transfer to my house to spend the afternoon/evening catching up. She left early yesterday morning (Thurs 9th) when a friend driving through picked her up and took her home.
As it happened, I didn't get a real nights' sleep for about 10 days until last night. I'm far behind on my goal to walk 100 miles in January and I haven't yet been on the scale to get a starting weight. I have eaten wayy too many cupcakes and nothing fits. BUT I'm taking it in stride and giving myself slack. I am doing what needs to be done, one step at a time. Medical insurance paperwork snafus, setting up a new calendar since I lost access (have settled on gmail for now even though I detest the cloud.) I also had a crown (tooth) started yesterday. I'm glad that I didn't book a midmonth trip. The end of the month is now the plan for going to see my Dad in FL with C#1. Still keeping a lengthy trip to AZ on the radar for midFeb/March May look into RV options and have to figure out how to do this with KDog.
What has been on my mind a lot is how important it will be to maintain boundaries and keep moving every day towards living my best life. I have this "that's what friends are for" and people pleaser mindset and bend over backwards to make other people happy, often at my own expense. For example, C#1 really doesn't move at the speed of life which works for me, - regardless of the legitimate reasons. I hope to do a better job of listening to the Universe - and my heart - going forward. The last number of years I have stopped listening while focused on surviving this job (and my house of horrors). It is an exciting challenge to reignite my life and I am grateful for the opportunity.
One last thing. I took particularly inspiration last week from a woman's comment. She spoke of how difficult it was to organize all of her clutter. She'd even hired someone and spent hours trying to come up witih solutions to the problem. Then, in an epiphany, she realized that the clutter itself was the problem. The timing was perfect as it came while I was smuggling paper files out of my office and going through tens of thousands of electronic emails and files trying to decide what was important and necessary. The key is recognizing that hanging on to clutter in the event you might want to use/refer to something again, isn't worth it if the item is something you could acquire again or even improve upon. Keeping momentos and reminders is also getting more burdensome as I get older. Oh, the thousands upon thousands of unorganized photos. Then there is the entire non-physical clutter, which is perhaps even my biggest enemy. Collecting good intentions, to do's etc., weighs me down heavily and is a great source of guilt. I mean to call my Aunt, my college roommates, my brother, my cousin J, my friend I, etc. and the list gets longer and longer and I get deeper and deeper. Taking care of things promptly is a good way to combat this.
So...with that, I say here's to new beginnings, renewed energy, freedom from clutter, and hope. May you all have a blessed and fulfilling 2020. - Mol
Thanks for the new year good wishes, and may your 2020 also be all the good things!