And It Was A Beautiful Day

My beautiful husband and his loving parents

As Thanksgiving approached this year, I was an anxious mess!  The thought of visiting family who I hadn't seen in months terrified me.  Newly married, I'm overly concerned with making lasting good impressions on my husband's family.  Since we said our "I do's", I have gained a plethora of weight.  Even my earlobes got fat.  Fatter.  Ugh!  Married life has been wonderful.  The security, however, has somehow made me lackadaisical where diet and exercise are concerned.  So I've gained. . . 10, 20, 30, 40 pounds.  I really don't know because the scale is not my friend and I have consciously avoided it like the plague.  In any event, as the big day approached - the day where I knew I'd be forced to see family on both sides - all I could think about was my fat earlobes.  And I was a mess!  My wonderful therapist, Kathy, (and by the way, I firmly believe all women should have a Kathy in their life because she has a creative, cool, funky, wild, genius way of uncomplicating the complicated) convinced me that I was projecting my poor self-image on my family.  She assured me that no one would be judging me on the thickness of my earlobes - no one but me.  And in just one, one-hour session with Kathy, my anxiety was reduced and I was convinced that I could enjoy spending time with family.  And I did.  And it was wonderful!  I am learning that the unconditional love of family is just that - unconditional.  And, if I'll allow it by getting out of my own way, time spent with family over the holidays - or any other time for that matter - can be time spent creating wonderful memories and getting my heart filled with the good stuff. . . unconditional love.   

Backyard Where I Spent Time. . .

Finding beauty

Yes, when I stay out of my own way, life can be. . . and IS. . . amazing.  And to my new family,

I love you more!

How about you?  How did you spend Thanksgiving this year?  Learn anything new about yourself?  Please share.  I so enjoy learning from others.  Peace.  ~Quinn~

Damn You AARP!

It's official!  I have finally arrived!  AARP found me and according to the mailer I received just today, I am now age eligible for membership.  W-H-A-T?  I'm old?  Is that what this means? Oh sweet Jesus say it isn't so!  Just yesterday I flunked my driver's test and had to retake it three times before passing and securing that long awaited license.  No, I'm not kidding!  Three times!!!  But I finally got it and I was so very proud.  I had what it took to get myself far away from parental oversight.  I had independence!  I was 16, I had a car and I was now legal to drive.  And that WAS just yesterday. Or so I thought.  Hmm.  What happened?  Where did the years go?  To qualify for AARP, one must be age 50 or older.  I remember yesterday - when I was 16 getting my driver's license - I thought 50 was O-L-D. Something I would never be!  And now that I'm there - now that I'm 50 (ok, ok, technically 51. . . but is there really much difference?) 16 seems like it was just yesterday.  Perspective.  With age I'm finding more and more that looking back seems like. . . well. . . not that long ago.  And looking ahead?  Hmm.  Well it too seems not so far away.  Very unlike my teen years, when looking back seemed like forever ago and looking ahead seemed like something that would never happen.  It was too far out.  I guess too far out finally got here.  I wasn't ready; I have to admit.  But it happened.  Whether I was ready or not.  And now, thanks to AARP, I am forced to admit that time is passing. . . quickly.  It's time to do now all the things I thought I'd do later. . . when I had more time.  Truth is, I don't have more time. Not much anyway.  Time is running out.  Note to self: Think Nike!  "Just Do It". . . and do it Now!

How 'bout you? Are you finding more and more that your life is passing "too" quickly? What dreams or goals have you put off waiting for "later", when you have more time or more money or more energy or more. . . well, you get the idea, right? When you stop and think about the quickness of this one life, is there something you want to do, can do and will do without putting it off any longer? Please share, won't you? I'd love to hear your ideas! In my "old" age, I fear I've forgotten things, and your comments might help remind me. Thanks for dropping by. Peace. ~Quinn~

I Want To Be A Blogger

Ok, so I want to be a blogger. I don’t know why. I just do. I’m new to blogging relatively speaking. Heck I’m new to everything these days. Wake up in the morning, look in the mirror, and wonder. . . who is that looking back? Don’t really know myself anymore. I’m 51 and I’m on this weird journey of self-discovery. Maybe the entire world is. I don’t know. I only know that for me the self-discovery journey only recently began. Could be mid-life crisis I suppose. I don’t know. Whatever it is, I have decided to embrace rather than fight. . . . it. And so I want to be a blogger. I’m not sure what I have to contribute, if anything, that will be helpful or useful to the world at large. I don’t have children. I don’t have grandchildren. I don’t have cool, hip hobbies that I’m exceptionally good at. I don’t travel. . .much. I’m not a photographer; though I’d very much like to be. I don’t own a business; I have nothing to sell. I don’t have a gimmick or trick or. . . well, you get the idea, right? I don’t drink fine wines, stay in hotels with concierge services, cook fine french foods or shop in high-end stores. I’m average. And you know what? I’m ok with that. Average is good. Most of us are, so I’m proud to say that I live a comfortable life among the masses. So here I am. Finding myself with others I imagine that are just like me. Average. . .discovering themselves. . . offering what they have and maybe just maybe creating something wonderful, magical, meaningful, necessary. I don’t know what I’ll get out of this process anymore then I know what I’ll have to offer. But! I can’t wait to find out. How about you? Do you blog? If so, what do you blog about? Does your blog have a theme? If you don't blog, what's stopping you? Thanks for stopping by and please, please leave a comment. I hate talking to myself! Peace. ~Quinn~