Happy 2014 to you!
Yes, I know it’s February and so much has already happened.
We spent New Year’s in Florida, I had a birthday, and Phil saw his shadow
(again).
Alas, I am starting to notice the days are getting longer
but I am still a bit leery of the deep freeze. I honestly cannot recall a
winter as cold as this one. School has been cancelled a total of five unplanned
days so far; unheard of. Even for us Minnesota natives, it has been quite
brutal. There have been many days that I have let myself off the hook and
allowed my schedule to fall apart. AND, I was perfectly OK doing so. Lucky for
me, I had plenty of friends show up at just the right moment to remind me
that it is an acceptable choice to do absolutely nothing.
I learn a lot about myself when I move out of enthusiasm and
into acceptance. The more I do it, the easier it becomes. With that said, I
still had planning to do. The first thing on the agenda was to establish my
theme for the year. This year, I chose Engagement. I want to be present in the
moment(s) and I want to grow through adventure. I also want to be of service.
Thus my goals for this year are: to engage in a brand new adventure every month
and to volunteer every month.
Another important aspect of my 2014 planning was to have an
accountability partner. I realize that being an accountability partner is a big
responsibility but so is choosing one. I have a lot of great people in my life
but I did not take the choosing lightly. I really trust this person. I can confide
in her, laugh & have play dates with her, cry & bitch to her. I can
COUNT ON HER. Luckily for me, she accepted the role and agreed to not only make
sure I met my goals but she also agreed to be an active participant. Wow, am I lucky or what?
I am not going to sugar coat it; I am affected by the weather
in both good and bad ways. All that planning and thinking without sunshine was
EXHAUSTING. I think I took a little rest after all that. Eventually though, it
was time to start ENGAGING. So I put together my 2014 Vision Board which really lifted
my spirits.
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| My 2014 Vision Board |
Next up was to meet my own expectations for January. As far as the volunteering I chose Feed My
Starving Children. I spent two days packing food. As a bonus, my husband and
son participated as well. Both of them had done FMSC in the past and it was a
very fulfilling experience for all.
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| My Son is in the Roll Tide shirt (middle). Look at all these awesome kids. |
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| Lynn, Rachel, Liz Inset: My husband and my son (Paul & August) |
Next was the adventure. I chose The Saint Paul Winter
Carnival. I have once been to the ice sculptures as a child. I was riding
somewhere with my dad and could see the sculptures from the car window. I asked
to stop and he did. I was simply delighted and humbled with the beauty. I
wanted to experience that again as an adult.
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| 2014 Saint Paul Winter Carnival, Rice Park |
One short term goal that I am working on is training for the Hot
Chocolate 15k which takes place on April 19. Yes, I have run further; but not
this early in the year. I think I really
need something to keep me moving until spring gets here. More to come on short term goals in future posts.
I would love to hear
your goals for 2014. I am also open to
adventure suggestions and volunteer opportunities. I will be participating in
the Special Olympics Polar Plunge and also zipline as two of my adventures but I still have nine
months to plan for.
Actually, the best gift you could have given her was a lifetime of adventures. ~ Lewis Carroll
