We all know about 2020, so I won’t discuss it in this post, except for the way it left my small world for 2021.
My WORD for 2020 was BALANCE, and I did pretty good with the juggling of to-dos until around June, then things got difficult.
I was getting antsy with the whole COVID-19 thing and hubby, who has leukemia, was worried that I might bring the virus home from work. So, when July came, I retired from 30+ library career. I loved my job, but I loved hubby more. Looking back,
I now know it was the right time.
At first, I worked as if I was on a stay-at-home vacation and I was in a frenzy to accomplish X number of tasks. Then I realized I wasn’t going anywhere—at all.
The days of wasting time began.
As the days rolled by, I couldn’t get any real motivation going. Hubs told me he was concerned about me—I was binge watching Hallmark movies and home makeover shows and eating, reading, and napping. My weight climbed. But hey—why not? The food was good and the couch comfy.
It was nice.
Then same ole same ole became boring, and I began not liking me very much. I purposely made myself sit at my desk each day and either work on my book series or hang out with writerly folks. I slowly saw small bits of progress. My story began to move. Time inside my pages became real, and it gave me that good feeling of life in my characters and the places where they lived.
I pushed myself just a little more as the days passed.
Back on the internet, I took my lazy self to task and checked on a free writers’ group that I’d been a part of for a few years. While scrolling through the free part of their site, I saw where they offered a class that I was sort of interested in. I had that light bulb, i.e., genius moment (LOL) and realized if I paid the dues to “really” join I could take the class and others they offered free, plus they offered other perks like mentors and critique partners. I was in serious need for a new critique partner and someone to push me out of my comfort zone.
As the weeks stretched into months, we arrived at Christmas time and the fun with family and friends was out. Only home with hubby. We put up a small, but tall, sweet gum sprout. He made a base for it and I hung a few lights along with a few Christmas balls. I’d started to hang all black ones only but couldn’t bring myself to carrying it out.
Christmas came. And Went.
Finally, January arrived. We celebrated our happiness for the new year within our own walls, all by ourselves.
Now, my weight was overweight.
So as an after Christmas gift to myself, I bought a set of DVDs called Body Groove. I decided this was my last hooray and my last chance before old age and lack of care took control—beyond any chance of redemption. I dug lemons out of the fridge and figured it was time to treat my body better. I made some lemon water. I couldn’t believe how good I felt after I drank it!
I sat down and wrote out a list of what I’d like to accomplish while stuck at home. A few resolutions thrown in for good measure.
I had already started a list on possible words worthy of carrying me through an entire year. By the end of the evening, I had six lists going—from grocery to lifestyle changes.
I grouped all the words for my word list and saw a pattern. Similar words that lead in one direction—Motivation! Sometimes, I find it amazing how lists and words help me sort things out.
So, my word for the 2021 year is… drum roll… MOTIVATION!
A word that I need to give me the drive, the inspiration, the will to live through 2021.
I hope my few words will give someone out in the blogosphere that needed spark of energy or conscious effort to go beyond the television, to learn something new, to hang out with nature, or do whatever strikes your fancy.
Tell yourself YES. It’s a new year—make it a new beginning.
GO LIVE LIFE
Sheila Covey 