Tag: journey

Objects In Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear

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You catch a glimpse of something at the edge of your line of sight. You are certain you see something; a sense of apprehension is growing. One minute life is what is has always been, and the next? You are moving forward at the speed of light, and just like a snap of the fingers thirty years has flown by. How curious and yet, how life affirming to know there has always been a constant in my adulting, my hubby and his strengths as a good human.

Let’s spend a moment of silence … Okay? Everything good?? Well, let me start by saying it is totally cool if that answer is NO. I have my daze. (You catch that play on words?) We are now working a new schedule with longer hours but shorter days. I wish sometimes that affecting a lifestyle change was as easy as stepping through a mirror or plunging down some shady ass rabbit hole but that my friends is not reality (I am a big fan of Alice in Wonderland). Everyone is (or should be) familiar with a quote that goes something like ” be the change you want to see in the world”. How many of us actually pursue it or believe we can change ourselves or the world around us? Scarce few of us, this I am certain. I used to be afraid. I am not anymore.

There was a time in my life when I felt overwhelmed by so many things around me. Growing up with little adult direction and guidance in my life colored all of my decisions, friendships, jobs, love, self-esteem, and sense of purpose. Once upon a time in a land far, far away there was a maiden, who didn’t understand her worth. Never in her thoughts was there a happily ever after looming in her dreams. Until one day, her future changed paths and she said YES…to a different mindset, to a different reality, not a fairy tale. He may not be a prince but to me he is a king. I am loved. I am enough. He sees me for everything that I am and still loves me. He is everything to me. My love, my joy, my aggravation (yes, I said aggravation; this is life not a Disney movie), The Green Hornet to my Kato. Today is our 27th wedding anniversary. It still feels like we are just starting out on our life journey together.

We are each blessed to have found the other. You are my EVERYTHING I love you more than you will ever know, thank you for being you.

Tuesdays with Mary Beth

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First and foremost, I hate Tuesdays. Adulthood is nothing but living through endless Tuesdays as they plod along on a continuous loop replaying all the drama of the bad decisions you have made in past lives. I know a tad dramatic; but am I wrong? If you work Monday through Friday, no one and I mean no one ever says “Oh, I love TUESDAYs!”

Mondays are what they are. Wednesdays are hump days and who doesn’t enjoy a good…Thursday is payday for most but “the end of the work week is near” for me. Fridays are typical Fri,yay! go out with your friends, relax, order take out, and finish Wednesdays intentions, lol. Saturdays are not heavy with chores and Sunday is what Sunday is. Different for each of us but I try to make my Sunday as worry free and peace filled as possible. What is Tuesday for? Until recently I would have said not a thing but pent-up anger and work- a- day sludge, that is until I found the courage to join yet another gym.

I pulled my self-confidence out of moth balls, bought some yoga pants, and took a leap of faith. I have been a Weight Watcher for many years. I have lived through many “program” changes, some good, some horrible but I always manage to hang on. Why? because I need to. One day in October after I found that recent surgery results were benign, I strolled in off the street and asked for a tour of facilities. I have had my eye on Worcester Fitness for more than a few years. Nice location, super clean, dedicated, friendly staff. I will admit what drew me in was BARRE. One of the leaders at WWs, Glorya, inspired me. WWs always talks to members about exercising or our need to move more. Glorya always seems so excited when she talks about her BARRE classes. I wanted to be a ballerina when I was five. I know, a lifetime ago but a dream is a dream as long as you keep it alive by working on it.

Adulting is hard. Facing an unknown variable at any age is tough but I DID IT. I want something better for myself. Something that belongs to me, that I work hard for. I chose my health. As soon as I was signed up and an active member, I celebrated by hitting up Starbucks for my favorite iced cold brew. I drove home, told my hubby, my friend Suzy and then the tears of realization hit. I have joined so many gyms in my past, always full of hope and inspiration. I practically had myself quitting before I even started. Not this time. I went to the website and signed up for YOGA with Mary Beth for Monday night. I looked at the BARRE class for twenty minutes before I had enough courage to book that class as well for Tuesday.

A life really can change in a blink of an eye. I showed up for my first group class, YOGA. I loved it. The coach/instructor? Welcoming, friendly, easy to understand, patient, encouraging. I was hooked. I left that class feeling like I finally found my gym. I started BARRE class the next evening. I thought I was going to pass out. I slayed it! Ok, so maybe I hung on but I did it, an adult ballet class! Little girl Trish overcome with JOY as pure as a Christmas morning from my youth. I am learning so much about myself, about what I can do. I go to every class wanting to learn more, to absorb it all. I have met new wonderful people in all of the classes I sign up for. I am looking forward to the winter months. Really, who says that? And to my Tuesdays with Mary Beth and BARRE.

Never Give Up On Who You Are Meant To BE !

Rolling Stone

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Sisyphus lives

For ten months I have stalled my engines on purpose, because I was hurt, angry, disappointed, and/ OR? Was I just not trusting myself to dance in the rain? try new things, make new friendships? I want to get to my goal. I let my rock (see cartoon) roll away from me. I obsess. My biggest weakness, but; a funny thing happened on the way to finding true happiness, I stopped worrying about all the small details and just started to enjoy myself.

For the first time in my life, without anyone else’s guidance, I am trying new things. I worked my ass off to lose weight, become healthier, make better choices for myself. I guess I wanted a billboard with the world’s largest ATTA GIRL pasted across it as a reward but what I got was ” you are up three pounds from last year” at my last physical. I’m going to interject here. Once upon a time I weighed over 300lbs. I have never been able to maintain a loss for longer than six months before I give up on myself. I am different this time. I have kept it off since 2020! DRAMA QUEEN MOMENT!!! I was devastated. Not ONE word of acknowledgment or encouragement! I had been in some sort of mourning since.

My next physical is fast approaching in November and suddenly since late yesterday I have let all the obsessing go. I mean really WTF, why obsess? Obsessing gets in the way of things I want to accomplish. Since I couldn’t have a billboard, I patted myself on the back, shouted a resounding atta girl to my reflection in the mirror and picked myself up off the sidewalk. My journey is far from over, there is much terrain to cover, plenty of adventures, things to see, do, experience, feel, and live in my own hard fought for peace. I wish to be my true self every day, always. No more ‘fixing” who I am so you (whomever that is) will like me. Twist! okay?

I am certain my physician will be disappointed that I paused my story. Oh well, she will have to adjust to the fact that I needed to have a sidebar at the bench before proceeding. I will get to where I WANT TO DWELL, at my pace not hers. I work most days at being a better version of myself. I own my mistakes, shortcomings, bad behavior, laughs, the love, the good vibes. It is all me. I have a hard time staying in my lane, LOL. I feel healthier than I have in a long time. I am in a really good place. I no longer have to have meds for my diabetes. My blood pressure and heart are in great shape for an old broad. My cholesterol is acceptable.

I am that person who will compliment you because there isn’t enough kindness in the everyday of life. I sing to the emptiness around me because I feel that honest beauty is in short supply. I see you. You are beautiful. You are enough. You are worth so much more than you give yourself credit for. Never Give Up on the Person You Are Meant TO BE. The best gift you can give someone is a smile. It is free. It comes with its own pure energy. It is contagious in a grand way. =)

The Wonder Of It All

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Have you ever just sit some place quiet and wonder about things? The place you choose doesn’t need to be fancy or even beautiful but it does have to offer or reflect a sense of calm. Well, it does for me at least. Lately I have been trying to figure out where in my timeline I swerved off my path. Not all changes that come to a life are planned or meaningful or meant to cause you pain. Once again I find myself at a rotary in my travels and I am not sure if I should take the second right or merge left.

I never hide or run from the fact that I can be a hot mess. “Normal” is a bullshit state of mind created by people who are unable or unwilling to admit that everybody struggles, themselves included. Sad for them because these types of people tend to keep themselves apart from others. They come off as aloof when in reality we, ( the divine inhabitants of the pool of hot messness ) scare the shit out of them or embarrass them or just plain make them feel uncomfortable, awkward.

The story of my life. I am okay with it, all of it. My life right now is in a state of flux. I think it may have started before I was forced to “see’ the changes around me but here I am. I am making waves with a new sense of who I am and what I am willing to “put up with”. I finally feel like I can stand on my own. No validation necessary. There are times however, when I miss what once was. I recently felt a surge of the happiness and good news vibe. It is an amazing feeling that makes you want to pick up the phone to call or text your BFF right away. It lingered only a moment but it happened. I am no longer a part of their lives. I allowed myself to feel unhappy for a touch of time and then put those negative thoughts away. Never waste time stirring an empty pot. I am loving where I am right now in my journey of discovery: new people, new challenges, passports, school, tour guide…my possibilities are endless.

Impossible!?

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or is it I’m possible? Sometimes the things we want to accomplish in life are near impossible to obtain. Things and situations we feel we need in our lives can seem out of our reach: the perfect job, the perfect spouse, THE HOUSE of our dreams, the gaggle of cool friends. It can all be yours. You just have to believe in yourself, that your dreams are possible, and…then WORK your ass off to achieve your goals. I mean, sure, maybe there is no such thing as a perfect spouse but love eventually finds its way to most people. It can feel like perfection if the chemistry is right and both players are not ass hats. I never wanted perfect just someone to love; to love what we made together (our life), and to accept that our road might have twists, turns, adventures, and a never ending supply of sarcasm. I am thankful we both have jobs (far from perfect), we eventually bought a house we both love (not the dream house) and we have some pretty amazing friends.

Right now as I sit in my office waxing on, I can hear my Mr. Right yelling, “shoot the puck!” at his computer. I never used to believe in finding a Mr. Right but rather a “Mr. You’ll Do For Now” as I always seemed to get whoever was left! over. Funny how life surprised me, how it keeps on surprising me. I know he is watching or listening to a hockey game. He is in his happy zone even if it doesn’t always sound that way. I am happy, drinking coffee, planning adventures for the up coming summer season and feeling that my “dreams” are possible. It is possible for me to? do whatever I set my mind to.

Letting go of something that doesn’t fit into my life anymore is hard for me but I am getting to a better place about it everyday. Change what you can when you must. Accept that which is unacceptable. Acceptance is the key to becoming a better version of yourself.

Food for thought? One cannot unfry an egg nor can One drink from an empty cup.

Never Give Up On The Person You Are Meant To Be

It Began With A Tear

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It came from a song. I have the hardest time singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” It is not because I don’t know the words or that I can’t carry a tune. This is a song about longing, wanting something, or someone or an event that for some reason you can not have. Or maybe you once had it and now it is gone. Or say as in my case I believe it is where I will someday see the face of my kid sister, long since passed away, waiting for me on the other side of this life. Every time I start this song, I stop myself. I feel my emotion catch in my throat. I feel small, alone, and abandoned. A friend asked me today why I never finish this song. For the first time in a long time I told someone why.

I am a broken soul. Most days with a little flair and a jingle or two most people don’t see through the cloud of smoke I lay out. Loss of a loved one is the toughest things that we as survivors have to live with. Tears spill because love cannot be kept. Sometimes all of that love that I am trying so desperately to contain breaks free from my heart and rolls down my cheek. Love

I never realized until today how often I don’t finish this song. This song reminds me of what once was but is no longer. It is a wish, a dream, a fear, a hope, a wanting. It is beautiful. It is haunting. It makes me happy on a good day and crushes me on a bad day. I have a habit of singing in public without invitation. My quirk, my passion, my link to sanity. I promise you that I can sing. I sometimes embarrass the people I am with but singing makes my soul feel alive. If I can make one other person’s life better even for just a span of a moment I feel like maybe I am seen, that what I do matters, that I have a reason to be. For a very long time after my sister died, I felt empty. Singing changes my aura and fixes my broken.

I try to go somewhere every Saturday. I must start this song every adventure and leave it mid verse. Somewhere in the presence of my own grief I forgot that this song means other things to different people. It is not my song and if I am going to start out on this journey I need to get to the end of the yellow brick road. So live like no one is watching, love with everything you have, make those memories and finish your song.

Life’s Twist…

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of Fate put you on my path. There is this saying about people being in your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. One day a window of new possibilities opened and a gentle breeze blew in stirring the stagnant land. YOU were that breeze, an unexpected wonderful surprise. The moment I met you I felt that you landed on the wrong shore. A creature of rare beauty. Sometimes as people we forget that beauty isn’t always about a wrapper. Beauty is as much about the packaging as it is about the gift.

I want to thank you for “seeing” me. You are one of the lucky few that knows me without the façade of protection I throw up around me. You made me laugh, you made me cry, you made me think. You let me worry about you, you let me be your friend, you let me take care of you with a kindness or two. You let me into your world and for that I am a better version of myself. You were never meant to stay for more than a season. This time I found a piece of my soul that I thought I had lost to the sorrows of my past. Smooth now like sea glass the harsh edges refined into wisdom. I am sad to see you leave but it is your chance to spread your wings and fly.

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I am grateful to the universe for swinging your life’s journey through mine and even though we now travel on separate paths please know that I am always right where you can find me. Once there was a Raven…

Like A Hurricane

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Once upon a time I was aging away from being considered young when I started dating my future (still mine) husband. I was the girl who was never going to get a guy, let alone marry one! It is almost 4 a.m., today marks that day in time when I wore a very large white dress and he donned a smart tuxedo. He waited for me at the altar. My Dad proudly walked me down the aisle, where he let me start a new life with the man that I love, and together we jumped into the abyss of married life. I was mentally so young and immature about love, all that it truly means. I was blinded by hope and a false sense of jubilation that I always thought would be there. Loving someone you are not related to is the TOUGHEST job in the world. It is not meant for the faint of heart. LOVE is the best gift you will ever get. LOVE is the best gift you can give, always, as it never misses its target audience, it comes in the right color and size. Love has its own energy by the sheer magic of awe it will continue to spread its good vibes. It is the toughest thing to let go of. Its strength can carry you over mountains. The truly blessed carry LOVE with them until the end of days.

Twenty-five, 20 + 5, 25! I deserve a medal! No. All joking aside I am proud of my younger self for believing that I was enough just as I was to be loved. Choosing to let love into a life comes with a whole caravan of FEELS I was just not prepared for. There is RUSH, that emboldened fool that swells with awkward emotions like squee, childish joy, exuberance. There is Hope. I like her but sometimes she shines so bright I wish she came with a dimmer switch. FAITH, is a quiet creature. I have learned over the years to just accept what she is trying to teach me. Believe in the hereafter, believe in your journey, believe in yourself, believe in a higher being, just believe. HATE, this chick is just too intense for me, Every time we hang out she tries to ruin my life. I try NOT to see her as often as possible. Even now sometimes I find her lurking in the shadows waiting for her chance to jump at the tiniest of sparks. Her main hag is ANGER. I really dislike when these two are at the kitchen table together cooking up a scheme. Anger is just DISSAPPOINTMENT in an ugly dress. Over the years I have learned that their relationships are not healthy for me to hold onto if I want my relationships to be OKAY.

My hubster walked into my life and changed every single thing about life I thought was set in stone. BECAUSE of him I know I am wanted. I am loved. I am beautiful in a way that transcends looks. I am so much more than I ever imagined I could be. He once said to me that he knew I had built a wall around my soul to protect myself from getting HURT but he was smart enough to walk to the edge and peer in through the cracks in my foundation to see the beauty contained within. He had me at peered in through my cracks(pun intended)LOL. Our relationship has its ups and downs, all great rides do. There has been doubt of concept. There have been failed attempts at being parents. There have been times of despair. There has been loss. There has always been US, him and I . I love him like a hurricane.

Love the people in your life EVERY DAY is a GIFT. I am grateful for every day I am given. Anticipation is the most under rated emotion. Life is like a lottery ticket. Sometimes one just has to scratch the surface to find the prize inside.

I am, am I?

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Life is a strange journey. Last June I decided to stop being an ass, embrace my inner thin chick, make an unquiet peace with her, and try to get back to the business of losing weight so I can keep my good health. OH MY GAWD what was I not thinking? It has been a frustrating, sad, heart wrenching time in the world. Some days so filled with fear, apprehension and uncertainty that I can easily become anxious about every little thing. Yeah I know, preach. I am finding it very difficult to stay in the moment, to enjoy the peace that surrounds me.

A few years ago I used to blog about my weight loss. I learned a lot about high expectations from that failed exercise ( see what I did there{{{wink, wink}}} ?)! The pressure I put on myself to keep succeeding when I didn’t feel like circling the block anymore got to be too much and just like that [a quick snap of my fingers] I was back to being the “fat girl” with a killer smile, a quick line, a song … and a broken heart. I say broken because every time I walk away from the version of myself where I feel I belong a little more of who I know I am disappears.

The odd thing about losing weight is I know how to do that. It is staying in the mindset of healthy habits difficult to maintain. I have struggled all week with feeling enough. Am I doing enough? Am I enough? Have I exercised enough? ENOUGH of ENOUGH! I promised myself that on this leg of my life’s journey I would not give into that little girl lost that lives in my head. I AM ENOUGH! A mountain can not be climbed without effort. NO more obsessing. It is unhelpful, it is unhealthy, it is soul crushing. I deserve more from myself, for myself. I have always been enough. The scale does not define me! I DO!

Today for the first time I got to see “The Greatest Showman” on Disney +. I know I am late to the show( no pun intended) but that is what happens when you are afraid to go to a movie by yourself and no one else you know wants to see a musical. Live and learn but if you are a believer in everything happens for a reason then I wasn’t meant to see this movie until today.

The song THIS IS ME is me. I needed to hear those words. So often in my life I have felt like I was too broken to be valued, to have value. I was starting to slide back into that feeling…but an odd thing happened on my way to giving up on myself and it all started with a song. This journey is long. This journey is tough BUT I AM WORTH the journey! This is ME!

I have learned that I am not on the road by myself. Asking for help makes the journey easier to shoulder. I am strong. I am brave. I am. I can and I will…succeed, keep on keeping on, being in my moments, loving my life and all the wonderful people that help to make it worth the ride.

Never Give Up On The Person You Are Meant To BE

SSDD+1

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It’s quiet here in the house. Supper is over and the prep for tomorrow’s day is done. The TV has been shut off for the night. All I hear are the sounds of the keys as I type. A mesmerizing click, click, click as I tap out my thoughts from my grey matter onto my laptop. Do you ever wonder why you do the things you do? Every one lives their lives with some sort of routines in place, same bed time every night, eating at the same restaurants every week, shopping at the same grocery store on the same day of the week at the same time, week after week, month after month… the same, same, same things. It feels like being stuck on a merry go round of doom.

Most people I know find comfort in the routine of living. There are no surprises to shock the system. A person can figure out where their niche is and live happily within its confines. I get restless. This sort of day in and day out repeat episodes of Happy Days drives me mad. Anger is a very dangerous emotion for me. I have never really learned to do positive things with my negative feelings. I need to change that. As a child I thought that when I grew up I would be whole, “an adult”. This mysterious entity that left home every day, who went to work and did magical things like pay bills! Somehow in my child’s viewpoint I thought it meant I would have every good thing I ever wanted: I would be happy. I would have friends. I would be married with children (Oh yes, I wanted 10!) Life would be AMAZING! The problem with child like thinking is it never accounts for heartache, sickness, depression, disappointments. Everything in my kid dreams were hearts and unicorns.

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I have a pretty good life. There are no children ( yes, I am still wounded by this) but I have a job and a hubby (a grumpy overgrown child man that I love) and a place to live and bills to pay. The glory of my life does not in anyway resemble my childhood notions and I am fine with that. I have a long road ahead of me; if I can find it from where I have been hiding in the woods of my life path. Avoiding things does not make them NON things. My truth? I allow my unhappiness to turn into anger and eating to hurt myself because instead of dealing with the negative emotions I try to choke them down with whatever I can sink my teeth into. It’s way past time to find a better way. I need to be better at being me. Say out loud why I am angry, own it, let it go so it can be energy for something good for me not something unhealthy.

Living is an action word. I need to do more of it.

Loving yourself