Category: moving forward

I’ve been a little MIA….I don’t like to write, unless it’s something positive, but…

I’ve been in a bit of a funk lately – ever since my birthday, really. While some say how wonderful aging is, how they’ve embraced their grey hair, deep wrinkles, weight gain, and sagging skin, me…well, not so much. (Thankfully I DO love the person I’ve become on the inside, so there’s that!!!!!)

I am at a place in my life now where I can say more likely than not, that my life is more than half over. On average, a healthy American lives until around the age of 77…that means I have (if I am lucky), 30 years to go…and that’s if I am lucky. Why on earth am I looking SOOO far ahead in the future? GAH, slap me now. No please, really….slap me!

Because it really isn’t that far off…and there is so much I still want to see and do in my life. But I am at the point where I wonder, WILL there be time? IS it getting to be too late? Hard to say…really. Time sure really does fly.

Everyone says, “Take that trip” or “Eat that cake” but man, I dunno…at the age of 47 I am still paying for my graduate degree, and now paying for my oldest while she’s taking classes up north. We are doing our best to pay cash for her classes/books so she won’t be in the same boat we are. Thankfully my husband paid his loans off a few years ago, but I’ve still got 2 more years to go. SOOOOO close, LOL.

And if I look at a piece of cake, I gain 5 lbs., so that’s a hard NO.

I do try to make the very best of my time here on earth, though. To make up for the lack of traveling or home improvements,  we do our best to take as many trips to the Beach and Disney as we can and make as many memories as possible. I have become more aware of how short life is, having lost my dog last year and a near death experience with my Dad last year. So I’ve decided to make more of an effort to be present and show those that I care about, how  much I love them. That could be a phone call, a text, a simple FB message…but I do it, and as often as possible.

I know, I know…such a morbid post. But it’s been festering inside of me for almost 3 weeks, and I have hope that by throwing it out there to the universe, that it will help me let go of the dread of aging so much. I suppose I am just not where I’d hoped I’d be at this stage in my life…but I know I’ll get there, eventually. I am just blessed that I have what I have, and I need to remind myself of that every day. I’ve got a great family, a couple of close friends, my health (knock on wood), a career, and we live in our dream place of sunny Florida. I am surrounded by blessings, and need to remember it!!! 🙂

So it’s out there, and now I am going to move past it and take my own advice and “Keep Movin’ Forward.”

SOOOOO…goals for this year to help get out of my funk are:

1. Sign up for a few races
2. Be consistent with my workouts – 2-4 times per week
3. Be present
4. Pick one thing each day I am thankful for and write it down
5. Try to stop stressing over weight and wrinkles (that’s a tough one-LOL)

How do you get yourself out of a funk? Do you ever get on your own nerves, LOL? Tell me something good!!!

Cheers,

Michelle

Last February I started taking @novorenew and I can tell you it’s been life changing for me. As a middle aged runner I can tell you that 30+ years of running has taken its toll on my knees, joints and muscles in general. By taking this supplement on a daily basis, I’ve been able to move more and more regularly-pain free!! Check it out and use my discount code Michelle25 to save!!

Miss y’all. Was sick all week and just a little lost inside my own head. Here’s a quote I found today that hit home.

GUYS…tonight was the first run in ages where I FORGOT I WAS RUNNING…if that makes sense. All of my runs over the last several months have been an effort. An effort to breathe. An effort to move. An effort to concentrate on anything but not dying. I won’t say this run wasn’t hard-because I went into knowing I wanted to push myself both in speed and in mileage. Some may scoff at my 10+ pace being in the same sentence as speed, but for ME, it’s fast, and I’m darn proud of the negative splits. The weather was cool and overcast and the wind was strong so that was a challenge. But…I did it and I’m so happy for getting it done. Thanks for all the support as I try my hardest to get back what I’ve lost.

This was on Thursday and I just had to share.

How do you handle starting over? Setbacks?

Cheers!

Michelle

I normally dread birthdays. I’ve not been a big fan of aging and all that comes with it. Weight gain, mood swings, hair loss, aches and pains, and everything in between. But after losing my Sammy last year-I’ve decided to start celebrating life a little more vs. dreading it. Here’s to my 47th trip around the sun!!!

Cheers!!!

Michelle

Sometimes it’s easy to forget the power of a smile. As someone who suffered from depression many of my young adult/adult years, I can admit smiling wasn’t always easy.

But as I ease into my “midlife” years, I’ve made it a point to smile more. While I still have demons many know nothing about, what I have more of is simple gratitude for life. I work in a VA hospital, and as a Veteran myself, I am humbled EVERY. SINGLE. DAY as I walk down the halls. 

Yesterday morning I came in to work early, only to find the lock on my door was broken. An hour and two locksmiths later, along with a new handle mechanism being installed, and I was finally ready to start my day. This set me back, though, and I had a hard time regrouping from to simple (and stupid) set back. My run in the evening after work was horrible, and my family was snappy at me. I closed my eyes on my recliner for 20 minutes to regroup, and decided tomorrow would be a better day.

I woke up before my second snooze went off this morning and was determined to have a good day. One way I LOVE turning my attitude around, is to pass on kindness to others. I arrived at work almost 25 minutes early, parked my Jeep and decided to go in early to get some work done. I used to DREAD walking in to work every day, and would sit in my Jeep until the last…possible…moment. Not anymore!!!! I love my new job, so coming in early isn’t something that is rare. As I entered the hospital, I greeted our volunteers with a big smile and a “Good Morning!!!!” as I do every single morning. Today I passed several Veterans on the way to my office, and one in particular MADE MY DAY. I smiled at him and wished him a Good morning, to which he responded “Look at that smile, you must love where you work. Thank you, and Good morning to you!!!” I smiled back and thanked him for his service along with assuring him that yes, it’s an honor to serve fellow Veterans.

Ah, the power of a smile….:) Pass on a smile to someone…you never know who’s day you might make better!!!

Cheers!!

Michelle

Little back story for you all-Running used to be something I truly loved. It was “freeing” me and was my therapy as I transitioned from 20 years of military life to the civilian world. I had a tribe of running friends and it was effortless to run 6-8 miles. Fast forward five years and OOOF. Running is hard. This run didn’t feel good until mile 3. But I’m not going to give up and quit. I may be slow as molasses but praying I find my groove again.

Have you ever had to take a break from something you loved, and had a hard time making a comeback? How did you handle it?

Cheers!!

Michelle

Happy six year anniversary to my blog!!! Here’s to making more time for writing. Thanks for all is you who’ve been a part of this journey!!!

Cheers!!!

Michelle