Another Year Older

 Hi Peoples! Remember me? I'm dedicating this post (Can you dedicate posts? Is that a thing? If not, I'm starting it.) to my sister-in-law Debbie cuz she sent me a birthday card the other day and said she hadn't seen any posts from me in a while. So, Deb, here's my shout out to you! Ok I have never gone this long between posts. I think maybe I've set some kind of record here. My last one was over 3 months ago. Definitely has been a while. But in my defense, life has been way busier since September rolled around. School started for me and my kids. So, I also started back to homeschooling, doing Community Bible Study, teaching the kids' class at Community Bible Study, and participating in homeschool co-op.

 My schooling is definitely a HUGE time eater! It's not that the work is outrageously difficult (at least not yet), it's just that there's a lot of reading along with the written assignments. The classes move quickly because they only last 8 weeks instead of the usual 16 in a semester. Thankfully, I'm liking the courses so far, though I feel like a ton of info is being thrown at me. I had no idea so much goes into being a counselor. I'm definitely feeling the intensity of the responsibility, and if I'm not careful, I sometimes start to get nervous that I might end up making some huge mistake and mess up somebody's life. I don't know. Maybe that's a normal fear for anyone starting their schooling in healthcare or human services. When I was an undergrad, I never experienced that. But my degree was in English. Not exactly going to cause anyone significant mental or physical damage by a poorly written piece or sloppy editing. Anyway, I finished my first class, Orientation to Professional Counseling Function and Identity. (That's a mouthful). And I got an A. Woo hoo! Guess all the academic ability didn't completely leak out over the 32 years I've been out of school. Now I'm working on my second class, Ethical and Legal Issues in Counseling. There are some tedious parts, but over all, it's a lot more interesting than I thought it would be. I'm just about at the end of week 3 and so far am getting an A in this one too. I will need to take a heavier load starting in the spring since there are 20 classes in all, and I'd like to graduate before I die!

Tomorrow is my birthday. I will be 54! Yikes! Seriously, that's kind of a little.... well, um, old. I don't feel this old. Ok maybe somewhat in my body, but not in my mind. Shouldn't I be more mature and wise and know more things and be all organized and have my act all together by this age? I'm only one year away from being in my late 50s. That's like practically a senior citizen. Well, I guess you either get older or you die. So, from that perspective, maybe getting older isn't so bad after all. While I'm not afraid to die, I'm not in any hurry either.

So speaking of getting older, since I will be 55 in one year, I've decided to set a 55 by 55 goal. My weight has been a challenge for most of my life, particularly so over the last several years. Overall, I now eat mostly low carb, though I've fallen off the wagon for the past few days and most likely will tomorrow. Hey, it IS my birthday! Last time I weighed myself, I had dropped 16 pounds. Not exactly the most impressive result after 3 months or so of changing my eating habits, but better than nothing, especially since I haven't been super consistent. However, it's been a while since I've checked my weight, but from the way my clothes fit, I doubt that I've gained much, if any back, or that I've lost any more. But I still have approximately 100 give or take a few pounds to lose. So, I've decided to lose 55 by the time I'm 55. Granted that's only about half of the total goal, but given my snail's pace with the whole weight loss thing, I think it's a more realistic goal. And truth be told, even if that's all I lose, it will still be a substantial improvement in both looks and health. Plus, that will allow me the freedom to indulge sometimes in those evil processed carbs that taste so amazing but are sooooo bad for those of us with insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome. So, I will face the dreaded scale on Monday morning in order to know my starting weight and set my goal for 55 lbs below that. I need this for a kick start to get back on better track with food, especially now that winter has decided to settle in early. Something about the cold and more dark hours and the holidays that just makes me want to devour truckloads of baked goods. But I think having this goal might help me reduce that truckload down to maybe say a backpack.

So, what are you planning to do a certain number of before your next birthday? This was a new concept for me. Now, I challenge you to set a goal. It doesn't have to be pounds. It could be anything really. I'd love to have you share.

Until next time (which hopefully won't be three months, but I make no promises, especially once spring semester starts), blessings to all!