January 1, 2010

It seems slightly surreal that six years have now gone by since I was unceremoniously dumped by the man I thought was my soul mate. In retrospect he did me a great service. Since that day I have grown emotionally and spiritually. And this year I reach a milestone – I will be turning 50! How amazing is that?

I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions, too often I set myself high expectations and then disappoint myself when I don’t meet them. It doesn’t do much for the self esteem.

I do however have a “bucket list”. It’s a living list. I make additions and subtractions as I go. At the moment it includes:

1) Learning to salsa dance
2) Learning a language
3) Writing something every day, no matter how small it may be
4) Travel somewhere that I haven’t already been
5) Make new friends

I have wanted to learn to salsa for a few years now. I am hampered by my shyness and certain budgetary restrictions. My friends would no doubt be surprised that I consider myself to be shy! But I am. I might put on a good front when I have no other choice, but I have become quite good at avoiding situations that require any sort of boldness. When cornered into an unavoidable circumstance, I call upon every acting skill I can think of and bluff my way through, mentally collapsing in a heap when it is all over!

My reasons for learning a language are twofold. Firstly I just want to be able to communicate in something other than English. Secondly, both my mother and my grandmother suffered from Alzheimer’s and I’m constantly on my guard against that insidious disease. I’ve heard that one of the best ways to keep your brain active is to learn a new language.

Writing has always been a passion of mine, however it is a passion that I have to learn to discipline and practise and utilise, instead of just scribbling and forgetting. It doesn’t matter what I write, so long as I do.

If I were to list every destination I would like to visit, my list would be far longer than it is! I want to travel to Africa and South America and the Caribbean. I want to explore parts of Australia and USA I haven’t been to. I want to experience life in different countries, meet new people, learn new customs and, best of all, eat new foods!

I’ve never found it easy to make friends, so that’s definitely on my bucket list. How to do it is another matter!

I don’t have New Year’s resolutions, but I do have personal pledges that are ongoing. I pledge to:

1) Always be there for my children, no matter what
2) Keep within a healthy weight range
3) Eat healthy food and a balanced diet most of the time
4) Try to stay positive at all times, even when challenged

None of my four personal pledges are particularly easy to keep to. That in itself will be a challenge. But I’m up for challenges – they make life interesting.

We can hope that the New Year brings us all we desire, or we can go out there and grab our desires with both hands. We can sit back and wait for life to unfold before us, or we can be proactive and live it.

2010 is waiting for us. Let us not disappoint!