For a New Decade! Here we go...

I'm about to turn 60.  It has kind of freaked me out.

Three of my four grandparents did not live past 57.

And then there is the fact that I look in the mirror and that girl looking back is really only 27.  WTF happened?  This cannot be real...

My former officemate told me that it would be a time of reflection, he was right.  And I am also committed to refocus with this reflection into the past and illumination toward the future.

I am blessed with work I love...a little retail gig that is my source of great joy with gal pals who have held me up in some of the toughest times lately.  And clients in my consulting business that are great people I am proud to be working for.

Gal pals...I have needed them all my life but more as I have moved away from my home and as I have gotten older and dealt with things life hands you as you travel the path of moving decade to decade.  I am blessed with my BFFs from home, my small but intimate tribe that is the core of my soul.  And as lonely as I have been living here, the last few years have blessed me with gal pals in this place that have also been my heart light.  They have been there when I felt like my heart would shatter into a million pieces.  They are some of the kindest souls I know and they are my special blessing in the space I live in.  They are my soft place to fall when I need one, here in this place...

My rowing partner is also my ski partner and has been my rock in some tough times...I continue to feel blessed to have her as a resource to lean on.

I have fur kids, four in spirt and two sleeping next to me, that give me the greatest joy and are pure, unconditional love.  Each one has chosen us and we are so blessed to be able to take care of them.  My heart would have a huge hole in it if they were not here.

I have family that I love.  I miss the ones gone, but talk to them all the time and I know they are watching over me.

I have a home.  Structurally it is a house but it truly is a home.  Most times dog hair is a condiment, it is not going to be featured in Town and Country magazine.  But there is a LOT of laughter and a HUGE supply of love for those who enter and stay for any amount of time.  I never have a day when I don't love living in this home or don't look around and feel love.

I have meandered my way through some things in the last few years that have caught me off guard and felt like a rip tide pulling me down into places that dredged up pain in dealing with family shit from a long time ago.  Sad, confused, angry days that seemed to come from nowhere and feel like a punch to the gut.  And though it took hard work and insight, reflection, I'm in the passing lane now and seeing it all move to the side as I drive by.

I have been blessed that I have finally been strong enough that I have made changes in things that were not good for me and strategically moved those things to the curb.  A few years back I would have continued to let them bleed me and say nothing.  They are now a hitchhiker I glance at and let them find a ride elsewhere.  No room for the negative  moving forward...

I have friends that I look at and know the gift each brings and I hope that I give them the love they give me.  Each has their special role and I am blessed to have them all in my life.  I think of my friend, he's retired and living in western Florida...he has such incredible insight and wisdom and his words have had such impact at times recently that I felt that riptide.  Those words help me in my refocus moving into 60 and beyond...

And I am beyond blessed with a husband that is the spouse every woman wishes they had.  He is kind beyond words, he is funny, he is generous, he is my everything. He is my rock and my soft place to fall.  He is my conscience when I need it, he is my foundation and my reality when I need a dose of that too.  I thank God every moment it comes to mind that I have this man in my life.  I simply do not know how I got this lucky that I have this incredibly amazing and wonderful guy as my other half.  There are not enough, would never be enough words to say how wonderful he is.

So here we go 60...I will start days thinking of my Reiki tenants...meant to be a daily observance so we stay present...
*Just for today, I will not worry...
*Just for today, I will not anger...
*Just for today, I will be grateful...
*Just for today, I will do honest work...
*Just for today, I will be kind to every living being...

Refocus and head into this new decade with difference and purpose.  Renewal.

I am blessed...And I am beyond grateful.