2025 was not a gentle year. It was a year where grief and hope shared space. A year of chaos and overwhelm and striving. It was a year that asked for endurance and persistence. I held it together, most days. I persisted - I kept going, did the re-dos, made the pestering calls, checked off … Continue reading Looking Forward with a 2026 WOTY
Winter Solstice’s longest night for an introspective over-thinker like me brings with it a deep review of the year. I had the realization that even though I want to be over the trauma of the hurricanes, I’m still living it, day in and day out. A year ago, I had the hope that we would … Continue reading Winter Solstice Reflection
The end of the year always awakens in me a desire to do a life review – how am I doing with my retirement lifestyle vision, how is my wellbeing, what’s working/what’s missing, what’s the plan for next year! I recently saw an article about Maslow’s hierarchical needs which had some great insight questions for … Continue reading Are There Unmet Needs?
In the US we just celebrated Thanksgiving, a traditional day to give thanks. I wanted to do something a bit different than “thanks to my friends and family” (which I do give thanks for). The “taking stock” blog approach uses a one word or one letter prompt approach for creating a blog post. You are … Continue reading Gratitude ala Taking stock
One of my book clubs finished reading a light romance called Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan, which stimulated some conversation about the script we were brought up believing we needed to follow. As my book club is mostly women around my age, it was clear we all had been brought up with a … Continue reading Going Off Script
I saw a term recently that resonated. “No”-vember. It encouraged “saying no” to the things that drain us. And a deliberate “yes” to the very best things—the things that fill us up and bring us joy. I had come to the realization that I am feeling overwhelmed partly because I took on too much as a … Continue reading “No”-vember
It’s been a week of ups and downs, a bit of a roller coaster ride of emotions. Let’s start with the good, the ups. After mostly failing at a do-nothing day (link here to blog post), I listened to some of the advice received (thank you!) and tried again. No, not a completely do-nothing day, … Continue reading The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
It’s been a few weeks since my last post. The forward momentum on the house (we finally got a build permit) grounded to a halt with immediate complications due to incompetency and vandalism. Things out of my control, but massively impactful on our (lack of) progress. And then there was the repeated requests for information … Continue reading Replenishment Day Failure
I was asked if I was excited about getting the house build permit. But it wasn’t a feeling of excitement. It was a feeling of relief. Finally, we could move forward. I’m not sure why I feel guilty for not feeling excitement. Is it because I’m not meeting the expectation that I should feel excitement? … Continue reading Acceptance – Feeling the Feelings
I love words, so when I read new phrases, I often will delve deeper into them. Recently I saw the terms “optimization culture” and “serious hobbying” which took me down a rabbit hole into cultural definitions in today’s world. "Optimization Culture" is an aspect of the Hustle Culture mindset, which is opposite of a Leisure … Continue reading Retirement – Switching from Hustle Culture to Leisure Culture
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