“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Hello Friends!
My, what a whirlwind these first few weeks of 2019 have been! And throughout it all, I’ve been brewing & stewing about my Big Plans for a Big Year ahead… with nary a moment to write any of this down in the blog. But, at last, here I am. Really and truly, oh so ready for this New Year to begin – with intention. Much like each of my beloved yoga classes, I find myself taking a few incredibly transformational deep breaths and setting an intention for the practice, in this case the practice of writing. I suppose there’s an awful lot of value in starting each new activity and each new day with this same approach. Let’s write that down to repeat & remember-
A humble suggestion, to properly begin any meaningful endeavor:
- Take a deep breath or two – let go of what you are carrying & be present.
- Set an intention and or dedication
- Repeat a meaningful mantra (or inspirational song)
- Drink a glass of water
- Begin, with enthusiasm (remember “Jingle all the way, because no one likes a half-assed Jingler”) 🙂
The Deep Breath: I’m sitting here so very happily on a Saturday afternoon in my upstairs perch, in my comfy slippers, Louisville Flea Market Leggins’ and favorite fuzzy hoody from Paris, with a cup of tea, my infuser bubbling and the Piano Guys in the background. The house is battened, the supplies are in place, and we are ready for our First Big Snow of 2019… and really, our first of our new lives here in NY. Having come up here solo in March last year, I was here for a few good snows (14 inches was the most, I think), but once Bobby arrived in April the snow dwindled. Today, sometime this afternoon, Winter is Coming. Yay! Yay! Yay!
Weather Update: Here’s our “before” photo (a dusting each of the past couple days… ) taken this AM on the way to 5 Points for final supplies.
Deep breaths taken, it’s time for that intention/ dedication. Because I always choose both when given a choice, I’m going to set one intention and also make a dedication. Perhaps something I’ll continue going forward.
Intention: To be focused, not scattered, and to convey more than a running online diary of activities and to endeavor to share some thought of theme that I’ve found helpful (and would love to discuss with anyone reading, if only I could get the comments section of this blog to work – one day!).
Dedication: This post is dedicated to these dear individuals who are very much in my mind today: Teresa G, Cathy R, Kim C, Lisa W, my auntie Sue and my dear first mentor, Jan Scott. You are each beloved to me, you have each given much to me over many years, and I am sending my strength, cheer and gratitude to you with this post.
Mantra: Stumbled across the quote above this week, and simply don’t know where it’s been all my life. It is definitely one of those “this is me” lines, that I completely connect with – and I’m so very glad Mr. Emerson is the man who coined it to make it sound profound.
Begin: Let’s just get this out there: I turn 50 this year. Gulp! It sure sounded like a bigger number when I was 12, 22, 32… and less so at 42, and of course, now that I’m right on top of it… it certainly doesn’t feel like as big deal as it sounds. Meanwhile, I’m really and truly super excited about it. It just feels like such a milestone – and quite honestly, it feels like the beginning of Chapter 2. And I’m so ready!! Bring it on!
“To whom much is given, much is expected” (attribution is questionable, claimed in some form by many). This quote has been my personal motto for as long as I can remember…. and honestly, it’s somewhat haunted me, driven me and tormented me because I have such an acute appreciation for how much I’ve been given, through no special merit – and entirely through the good fortune of my birth, my parents, my family, my lucky stars and my life events to date. This sense of being given much, has left me feeling that I simply MUST do something great… and that to come short would be to squander all the gifts that I have been so generously given over my many years on earth.
So now, this year – 2019 – the year I hit my half-century mark, I feel like I’ve arrived in the place (Physically, Professionally, Emotionally) to Do Something Great. As my very dear and amazing friend Dr. Ana (fabulous acupuncturist and healer at the Heavenly Bodies Clinic in Arlington, VA) says… I’ve arrived in my “ideal scene”. For any of you who’ve read this little website of rambles from the early days of 2018, the process of arriving here was certainly an “all hands” exercise – the plans, the extraction, the communication, the “leap”, the pursuit, the prayers… and then, the start, the settling, the learning, the meeting people, and the occasional bought of blues and the many, amazing signs of validation that we were meant to be here. Phew!
2018 was a biggie… but at the end of that journey, we find ourselves at the very beginning of a new one. The “what happens next” is upon us – and I am just bursting with excitement to dive in.
And so, my New Years intentions are all wrapped up – quite selfishly – in how to make the most of all I’ve been given, and all the obstacles I’ve cleared, to GET ON WITH IT and start making the world a much, much better place as impactfully as I possibly can. In sum, this is my year to stop becoming (although I know we are always a work in progress), and to simply start manifesting. Who’s with me?
In an effort to not exhaust any of my patient readers, I’m going to wind this missive down shortly -with the intention of writing a bit more each day of this 3 Day Snow Weekend, to share a few more of my thoughts and get in a bit of a pattern of writing for the month ahead.
I’ll conclude this post with a somewhat belated sharing of my 2019 New Years Intentions, and then a quick update on the Maven, for those inquiring minds eager to know how he’s doing.
New Year 2019: The Magpie’s Intentions
- Improve my focus – learn/ re-learn to spend quality time on one task at a time in order to do it well, enjoy it and fully experience it.
- Get stronger & leaner – dedicate serious effort to my physical body, to prepare it for the heavier lifting of the years ahead, the inevitable challenges that await me, and – let’s face it, to make sure I really like the way I look on my birthday!
- Reduce time/focus/energy-sapping clutter – while the move helped us do this with our “things”, there’s still (always) more to do. Moreover, my specific focus for this year is going to be on digital clutter which I find to the be enemy of intention #1.
Not that any of these are remotely original, but perhaps precisely because they aren’t, I’ll plan to share my progress toward “becoming my best me” along these lines over the days ahead. Happy to share things that may help me get there, and setbacks encountered. Stay tuned for a little ramble about the “accountability partner” process that my dear friend E and I are going to start on Sunday – setting goals and checking in once a week to keep each other on track… toward Great Things!
Final Note: The Maven (and his broken wings). It’s been a slow start to 2019 for the dear Maven… we’re really looking at Feb 1st as his New Year’s day, as he gradually comes back into the world of the functional. After the “limbo” of waiting for surgery from 12/24 to 1/3, we found the surgery was more of a setback than a step forward – and much more difficult and painful for him than we’d anticipated. It’s taken a lot out of him, and he’s been exhausted by the post-op recovery. On a brighter note, this past Monday was a very positive milestone, as his splint and stitches were removed and the surgeon took a follow up X-ray which indicated that things are healing well with the plate & screws holding the bone in place. Equally importantly, Bobby is finding great joy in having both arms – especially his dominant arm – back… even if he can’t do much with it. Much to our shared chagrin, he drove back from the Train Station on Wednesday after dropping off his mom who had stayed here while I was in NoLa. And then, as a wonderful treat, he rallied for Friday Night Date night at 9 Mile East Farm @ Saratoga Apple last night. Our first in a really, really long time – and we brought home enough Momofuku-style pork & kimchi to eat our way through the winter! See photo below – yum! Next step, he’s to start physical therapy on Monday (we’ll see what the weather holds)… which should help alot too, at least toward feeling like we’re making progress back toward normal.
Last word, from the Maven himself (Thursday night) “I realize there is really one big lesson I’ve taken from this whole experience. As simple as it is, I really have learned to appreciate being healthy and how important it is to be physically well.” I’m so proud of him. These are words we all need to take to heart – to encourage him, and one another, to do what we need to do to take care of our bodies – for ourselves, and for those around us.
Closing Quote: “Dedication is remembering what you really want.” – unknown
That’s all for now – until the snow!
XO
M.
