Reading to Write

My Path to Becoming an Author

It’s a New Year

Well, I see that I actually made five posts last year. Which is, apparently, four more than I made in 2015.  I won’t say posting more this year is a New Year’s Resolution, because I’m not making formal resolutions this year.  What I’m doing is looking around at what needs doing and making small steps to accomplish it. 

So far, on the fifth as always, I took down and repacked the Christmas decorations. But this year, I put them back in storage in an orderly way, so that the ones I need first are in front and I can access them without dragging out everything.  This year, I put up the tree on Chrystal’s birthday, as usual, but I never got around to doing much else because I didn’t want to drag it all out searching for what I needed first.  So, the holiday tree in the front yard never got decorated.  The wreath on the front door and the advent wreath for the dining room table were put up the same day as the tree.  Nothing else got done because it just seemed like it was too late to take the time and trouble.  I am prepared to make this year go better.

Davie, the brother whom I live with, had been complaining for a while about the crib I keep set up for my youngest great-grandson.  He thought it was in the way where it was sitting, but that was the only place it would fit.  So, I’ve begun a project to reorganize things so that the crib will fit better.  

Part of this involved moving the train table from the office back to the living room and setting the track back up for the kids to play with.  So far, only Damion and Elaina have been here to use it, but they are both very pleased.   I am in the process of setting up rules for its use.  The main reason it was taking up space in the office was their tendency to tear down the layout and scatter the pieces all over the house.  Putting it back together is complicated and I need to use the set up instructions every time.  I just got tired of the hassle.  I stored the track in boxes, moved the table to the office and put a nice glass fronted cabinet in its place.  

Now, I’ve moved the cabinet to the office, taken a small desk that my computer was on upstairs, and moved my computer around the corner to the section of desk that used to hold a second computer for the family use.  It’s been gone for a while and the desk space had a TV on it for a long time, but that’s gone now too.  The largest desk section was just collecting junk.  Now there’s room for the crib in front of the window and I’m gradually getting the office in order, although there’s a way to go on that front. Still, I’m sticking to my decision: No resolutions.  No big goals.  Just look around every day and see what needs to be done, then do as much as I have time for toward accomplishing the task.   It may take 6 months to get it all organized but, if so, it’s still better than listing  “reorganize office” as a line item that keeps getting pushed back because it’s too time consuming.

Also included in this way of handling things are my health goals.  Notice I said health, not weight loss.  While I ‘d like to get my weight down to about 135 pounds, I know that’s a difficult goal.  Besides which, I know, losing the weight isn’t the only problem, I need to increase my stamina and strength.  I am 73 years old.  If I don’t get enough exercise, it isn’t long before I can’t even walk through the grocery store without hanging on to the cart.  I know because I was at that point last spring.  

I also know I can’t lose weight through diet alone.  We already eat pretty healthy.  My problem isn’t too much food or the wrong foods.  At least, not the main problem.  My problem is inactivity.  

A large part of my day is spent sitting most of the time.  My usual method is to plan a workout routine.  Sometimes it has been very involved.  Other times a simple statement to workout every day.  Neither one has worked.  So, I’ve found a couple of simple exercises that only take a few seconds.  I’ve set reminders on my phone to do a set of these every four hours.  It has a nag me function so, if I’m in the middle of something when it sounds, I can finish what I’m doing and it will continue to remind me every five minutes until I actually close it out. 

Finally, knowing that climbing stairs does all kinds of good things for your health, I am using the bathroom upstairs most of the time and purposely not carrying everything down with me at once in the morning to “save trips.”  Trips are good for you.  I’ve also set up my Yoga mat, weights, and stationary bike upstairs so, if I get the urge to do a workout, I don’t have the excuse of not wanting to get everything out and put it away afterwards so the littles won’t be tempted to play with it.

So, no resolutions.  Just a life plan of taking baby steps toward the same goals I’ve had for several years and seldom come close to accomplishing.

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