Choosing Health, Wealth and Happiness
How many times have I said these 5 little words; “I could never do that?” I have said those 5 little words more times than I care to remember. How about you? All to often, it is easier to put up fences than to risk embarrassment, easier to not even try than to risk failure.
Today is Mother’s Day 2018! Who should you thank for Mothering you?
I am Child # 8 out of 9 of an Irish Catholic family. I grew up with 2 loving parents, with a mom that stayed home to take care of the family and the home. My dad was a NYC police officer who retired when I was about 9, and my parents moved from Long Island to Upstate NY with the 4 youngest kids. 
Can you imagine raising 9 kids? Personally, I never felt the pull of motherhood. I think at a young age I recognized that it was hard work. Don’t get me wrong, I love kids and enjoy spending time with them but at then end of the day, I am happy to return to my quiet home to walk my dog.
Remember back in October when I excitedly posted about my new (to me) 2015 Hyundai Veloster? I had saved money to purchase it with cash and nicknamed it Sunburst! Don’t get me wrong, I am loving my car but I am having a bit of a dilemma I thought I would share.
I did a lot of research on buying a used Subaru Impreza but the bright orange Veloster caught my eye and the decision to buy was made quickly without research. I am having 2 problems that are making me question my decision.
A few days ago I saw a few glimpses of spring when I decided to do a bit of raking and yard clean up. I packed up 6 bags of yard debris and stuck them in the garage. I saw the day lilies sporting some greenery and the crocuses popping out of the ground. I heard the cardinals, robins and blue jays singing away.
This morning though, I peered out my window and saw evidence that winter has not released its grip on Central New York. I saw a light coating of snow everywhere and my outdoor work was cancelled due to the cold. The temperature currently reads 40 degrees but the wind chill says otherwise. So I put those 6 bags filled with leaves, sticks and dead stalks out to the curb while the wind whipped and the snow fell. Mother Nature needs to make up her mind!
Back in February in a post titled “Don’t Just Go Through the Motions”, I shared my goals for 2018. My goals are recorded on 3 notes on my Google Keep Page under the titles Health Goals, Wealth Goals and Happiness Goals. My Google Keep Page come up automatically every time I turn on my computer. This way, my goals are always accessible for me to review. My Google Keep Page contains 2 other notes related to my goals. One is where I record the next steps I need to take to reach my goals and the other contains reminders to prioritize my goals.
One note is titled “Sculpt My Life – Next Steps”. This is where I write down the next steps I need to take toward reaching my goals. Periodically, I review my goals and figure out the next step for each and jot that down on this list. The second note is titled “My Strategic Life Reminders”. This is where I jot down helpful advice I have read about or heard about that I think will help me in my pursuit of health, wealth and happiness goals. They are reminders to prioritize what I say is important to me. Currently, this list contains the following 3 bullet points:
By nature, I am a homebody. I prefer to sleep in my bed, eat my own cooking and putter in my garden. During the month of March, I was traveling away from home for 17 days. I spent time in Florida, Massachusetts and New York City. In Florida, I caught up with Mother Fran, Child #7, and Child # 5 and his honey. Mother Fran had plenty of “jobs” for me including digging out roots from old bushes, planting new grasses and driving her to appointments. I enjoyed wearing shorts and flip-flops, kayaking and hanging at the pond.
I spent 5 nights in Massachusetts in 4 different towns catching up with old friends. I visited one of the nursing homes I used to work at and said hello to a few old patients and co-workers. I attended an Occupational Therapy Conference and earned 5 continuing education credits while catching up with even more friends. I got to meet a friends 6 month old baby and had a little snuggle time which is good for the soul. 
I have spent some time and energy over the last few days aimlessly tidying up. Looking through my belongings and boxing up things to donate. Scouring through my closet and drawers to see what is taking up space without ever being used. I have a bag of clothes, a pile of books and a box of stuff ready to get rid of on my back porch. I have vacuumed and swept and dusted various surfaces in my house and car.
While cleaning out stuff today, I came upon my notes from reading The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra. Here are two quotes that I wrote down.
“Every single problem that you have in your life is the seed of an opportunity for some greater benefit.
When your preparedness meets opportunity, the solution will spontaneously appear.”
The other morning, I was heading out to walk the dog and stopped to check out the handy, dandy weather app on my iPhone. It had one of those red banners across the top warning me of icy conditions. Score 1 for being prepared. Instead of my hiking boots, I pulled on my winter boots for improved traction, leashed up the pup and headed out the front door. I stepped off the porch, onto the first step and proceeded to slide, feet first down the 4 steps onto the cement landing.
I laid on the ground for a minute cursing and trying to move all of my limbs to see what was hurt. My left wrist and shoulder seemed to haven taken the brunt of the fall and both felt sore. Other than that and my tuckus being wet from laying on the ground I seemed to be fine. My honey heard the fall and opened the door to check on me (I figured she really heard me cursing)! I got up and proceeded to take the poor dog for her walk. Everything was slippery and it was one of those really short walks where my sole focus was not to fall again.
I have been hanging out in Florida this week with Mother Fran and Child #7. The weather has been ok but regardless, it has been nice to get away from the cold and the snow. They live in what feels like a pretty congested area with busy roads full of traffic and every store you can think of within a 10 minute drive. Usually I would hate this type of area but they have something I crave with every ounce of my being. They live on the water. Don’t get too excited, it isn’t the ocean or even a lake; they live on a small pond. They share the pond with a bunch of other houses, each one faces the pond with their back porch.
Mom’s back porch is screened in and the entire thing overlooks the pond. It has a table and chairs, small couch and comfy chair. You can also walk out the porch door and set up a lounge chair on the grass when the need overtakes you. You can’t swim in this pond or even toss in your kayak (apparently that is frowned upon) but people do fish and enjoy the view.
I grew up in the 1970’s and 1980’s when processed food, T.V. dinners and fast food were the norm.
Nobody told Mother Fran though! She was ahead of her time when it came to ensuring her family ate healthy meals.
