Home Alone

Hi,

Let me introduce myself. I am a wife of 23 years, a mother of 2 beautiful young women, and the primary care-taker of the family cat. I work one morning a week, just to get out and take part in society. I have been lucky enough to stay at home while our girls were growing up, and am grateful for that opportunity. I did, however, lose my social skills because my social network became children, my husband, my parents, and one or two other stay-at-home moms. Once our girls got into high school, I began to realize that I needed to start getting out, and finding some social opportunities for myself. Thus, the mini-job.

I've never done much in the way of reading blogs, so forgive me if this is more of a journal, or outpouring of my thoughts. I guess I'm hoping that this will help someone in some way, or inspire someone to take part in something that is important to them. So, on that note, here is my first blog:

We're well into October now, and life is finally starting to settle down. We've sent kids off to school, travelled, had kids home for Thanksgiving, and finally gotten back to the empty nester's "couple's life", and the regular week's routine.

Life has changed this year. I have always had someone to take care of, and now I don't. Don't get me wrong. I still have my wonderful husband with me, but I consider him to be independent enough to look after most of his things himself. I guess by "take care of" I mean looking after those who are dependent on me because they aren't able, or aren't mature enough, to do it themselves. Our children are now in post-secondary education, and so are spreading their wings.... I get so excited for them, because their possibilities are endless!

My Dad passed away 5 years ago, at the age of 78, and my Mom just passed away this year, in April. She was 85. I had the privilege of being able to help her after Dad's passing. Certainly, an experience I wouldn't have traded for the world.

Now, however, I find that I have time on my hands, and am scattered in my thinking, and attention span. I know I need to clean the house, and declutter. That happens usually only when I am in the mood. (I am really not much of a housekeeper.)

I am taking part in a choir (that I joined with my mother's encouragement), a quilt guild (that I've been a member of for 7 years), a local camera club (that I joined originally for my daughter), and have just taken up knitting (something that my mother did, and was exceptional at). There are art classes that still call to me, but I'm not ready to get back to that yet. I would also like to get back to learning more of the violin (I did that last year, but didn't take the time to practice much, so thought I'd wait a bit until I'm more focused.)

My biggest challenge right now, however, is my weight. I have at least 10 pounds on, although I would like to lose 18 lb. in total. It is hard, when I'm home alone, to stay focused on eating well. I also am looking for other avenues of exercise, besides walking my regular traffic-laden routes. There is a beautiful park here, but the trail is rather long to walk alone. Plus, I'm more of a fair-weather walker. Therefore, I'm going to check into the local gyms and see what they are offering for programs. The idea of a yoga class is intriguing, as is a spinning class, and/or a running club (my sister, and a friend are both inspiring me in that vein of thinking). I will let you know what I decide on, and how I make out with my journey in weight loss.

Knitting-wise, I have taken a class on how to make thrummed mittens. A rather ambitious project, considering I am a basic knitter, and have never made mitts before! The class was given by a local yarn shop, Cricket Cove, at the Home Port Inn. It was a wonderful day, and a great class! Cricket Cove is a wonderful place, with such beautiful yarns to work with! It is the kind of store that welcomes all levels of knitters. You can take your knitting in and sit and knit, or ask for help. They give classes there, too. I am stuck on my project now, so will be stopping in to the store to get some help this week. =)

Quilting-wise, I am finally taking the Beginner's class, offered by our Guild. There are lots of tips and tricks that I am looking forward to learning... if I can just get over the thinking of finding the "quick" way to do things, instead of the best way! My quilting goal this year is to finish the top of the Maple Leaf quilt I'm making for my best friend's wedding gift (She's been married for two and a half years now!!!). I'll post a picture when I finally finish it. =)

Well, that's my life in a nutshell. I will leave you with a quote for the day.

" ... our biggest fear is taking the risk to be alive - the risk to be alive and express what we really are." - Don Miguel

Have a happy and safe day.