Welcome, 2017!

It’s a new year! Well, technically it’s a new year plus 13 days or so. I’m a little slow in my official new year’s post. Oh well, maybe making a timely toast to the new year can be a resolution to carry out NEXT year.  In my defense, I did spend some time thinking back on this past year and put together a video retrospective of 2016. Though I already linked that on Facebook, I’ll put it here too as it seems appropriate.

 Now that we have turned the page into 2017, what are some of my thoughts and goals?

I began a journey into weight loss and fitness on January 4, 2016. I was overweight and terribly out of shape. Beginning was hard, as was sticking to a fitness plan. I used my Fitbit to help me keep track of steps. I started exercising daily. I kept track of the food I ate. I lost 55 pounds in 2016, and I’d just as soon not gain that back in 2017. No slacking off, Liz! My Fitbit data says that in 2016, I walked 4,129,138 steps (1,682.03 miles). Now that's crazy - and cool. I would love to be able to maintain that level of activity in 2017. I've maintained the weight loss but slowed down a bit on steps since school started, and especially since we stopped hitting the State Parks on weekends. Hopefully I will be able to be consistent with my activity level without becoming obsessed with my weight. It’s always a delicate balance.

Photo credit to Teri Franzen. Hiking is easier after losing the weight!

And speaking of State Parks, I would love to continue that adventure! Our Minnesota State Parks pass was purchased last June, which means it is good through this coming June – and there’s a very good chance we will purchase another pass when this one expires. We plan to visit as many more state parks as possible. We aren’t doing much this winter, but when spring hits, we are on it! It was so much fun to have options for little weekend outings. We plan to go up the North Shore this year, which offers the opportunity to hit a lot of State Parks in one fell swoop. We have been to most of those before, but not on this pass! It will be fun to see them again and check off more new ones as well. And in the long-range planning, I feel just about as happy as can be to say that we are planning another trip to Prince Edward Island for 2018. I guess that’s not really about this year, but it does feel good to say we are going NEXT YEAR instead of just sometime in the future.

State Park hiking was fabulous!

I'm dreaming of a return trip to one of my favorite places!

All the talk of trips brings a mixed-bag of emotions for me. I love planning big trips, but it is something we have been hesitant to do since Les passed away 2.5 years ago. We felt we could be gone for a week, but not much more, and even during that amount of time gone I would start stressing about how Barb was doing. As her health had been declining a bit, we had felt less able to plan time away. Now Barb is gone and we can plan, but I feel unsettled about that as well. It doesn’t feel right to find any joy in that “freedom.” I miss her and would turn back the clock if I could. Sigh. It’s hard to know how or what to feel. I’m kind of a mixed-up mess.

Family picnic with Barb in May, 2016

Grieving stinks. I don’t think I’ve really put adequate time into grieving Barb’s loss. We are only a month in, and it happened at such a busy time of year. This past year has been a hard one. In addition to Barb’s death, I lost my sweet friend Dr. Woolner in 2016, and our kitty Matilda died. After Barb’s passing, I realized how heavily I have relied on the cat during past times of sorrow. There is something so soothing about having a cat sit on your lap. The physical warmth and love have really helped me in times past as I was sorting through emotions and reactions to loss. Getting another cat is not in the cards right now, so one thing I would like to do this year is volunteer at Paws and Claws. Hopefully, that would be good for me and for the kitties.

Dr. Woolner and me, the first time we met.

Miss Matilda May Traff

I loved my thankfulness experiment last November. I intended to continue writing those notes to friends, but Barb’s death kind of threw everything in my brain into chaos. I want to return to that thankful mindset and put my thankful thoughts into notes and expressions of appreciation on a more regular basis.

I am committed to donating platelets regularly again this year. I have been going about every three weeks, and I hope to continue at that pace. It’s so important to me to be able to help others in this way. Also, I get a cookie once every three weeks! Ha! Seriously, though, one of the best things I ever did was get over my fear of this process and start donating at the age of 50. I only regret not starting sooner, and cherish each time of donation.

I would love to kick my organizing gene into high gear, IF indeed I have one. I did some deep cleaning a couple of years ago and maintained some areas pretty well, but we keep adding things into our house. We have stuff from our young adult kids, stuff from Barb’s belongings, stuff still to be dealt with from my dad’s belongs, and stuff from school. Stuff, stuff, stuff! I need to find some time to lighten our load. Maybe spring break? That doesn’t sound like as much fun as going hiking, but we shall see. It is important, even though it is not my strong suit.

I want to write more.  I love sharing ideas and encouragement, sculpting words around thoughts. And of course, if a photograph can illustrate that thought, I’m all-over taking that picture.

Whew! That seems to be enough for any girl to think about in a year. If I try to do that all on my own, or even if I make plans to do that without figuring out where God wants me, then my plans are in vain. Seeking God is always at the center of my life and my plans. 

I think I’m ready for 2017, and January is only half over. I still have 11.5 months to work my way through things. Let’s go!