New Year Musings

It’s mid-January and my house feels naked. Gone are all the wonderful, glittery, Christmas decorations that made our home feel cozy. The house no longer smells like pine. Our cookie tins are empty and already packed away. I think I am suffering from Christmas withdrawals. Is that a thing? I feel sad.

My son and I respectively returned to school and work last week. My husband resumed his commute to Manhattan and my daughter headed back to college after being home for a month. Our family has gone back to the typical patterns of daily life. Even the dog is laying in the usual places that she did prior to the tree invading her territory.

All tags have been cut off of blouses and sweaters I was gifted at Christmas and they are hanging in my closet. In fact, I believe all of them have already been worn at least once. I received some great stuff this Christmas. I absolutely love my new pajamas. I put them on as soon as I get home every day. Technically, that probably makes them “lounge-wear” instead of pajamas. They are so, so soft. (Score one for the hubby!)

I thought I would be more excited about entering a new decade. I bought a new planner and had visions of creating a bucket list, setting financial and personal goals and “bursting out of the gate” with vigor and determination to succeed. Instead, it is January 16th and I haven’t completed my lists yet. Not good since I am, by nature, a list maker. What is wrong with me? It’s like I am in slow motion. My mood lately is extremely reflective. I am approaching life with much more caution than usual.

Anyone notice anything odd about the weather lately? It was 56 degrees on Long Island Wednesday. It’s the middle of January! That is just plain wrong. Everything seems to be a little off to me and I am wondering if it’s just me or is anyone else experiencing this?

2020 is going to be a milestone year for me personally. I will be celebrating a HUGE birthday in February and 30 years of marriage in December. I have one child graduating college in May and another child entering college in the Fall. My firstborn will officially become an adult as she enters the workforce and my baby will be at college being exposed to all the things that will mold and/or determine his future. It is an exciting time for our family!

The truth is, I do not want to get any older. And, I don’t want my children to grow up either. I read an article today that my cousin shared on FaceBook that talked about the “Yold Generation.” It stands for young old people. Older people are working longer, are more active and are living longer than previous generations. So, while their birthdays might qualify them as being “old,” their mindset, work ethic, and stamina are behaving much younger. Hence, they are young old people (yold). I was happy to read this except for the working longer part. I think it should be retiring longer instead, lol.

I used to think things became easier as you grew older. I realize now that’s not true. Things become different, not easier. Change seems to be the only constant in our lives these days. The older I get, the more I need to embrace change. It sounds pretty simple but it’s really not. I have decided that “embracing change” needs to be my mantra for 2020 and at the top of my goal list (which I am going to complete soon). Anybody else have change on their list?

I think, deep down, I do know why I am feeling so reflective as we start this new decade. The past decade was full of challenges for me in pretty much all areas of my life. I battled health issues that impacted career and living situations and, I said goodbye to too many loved ones. These events caused me to view life, opportunities, and family very differently. I did a lot of soul-searching to determine what’s truly important to me. I learned to let go of things that were hurting me. I emerged with the idea that I wanted to figure out ways to Outwit Life and, thus, my blog was born. Entering this new decade is a fresh start for me.

Blogging has been a very fun journey so far! Now that I have figured out the logistics of creating a post, inserting a picture, sending a group email, etc. it’s time I narrow my focus on the blog’s intent. I have a lot of work to do but I am up for the challenge. I’ve been writing this blog for a little over half a year now. My goal is to turn this into my full-time business by my one year anniversary (July). That means I need to decide how I want to monetize it and what niche I will pursue. So, lots of changes for the blog in the months to come.

As an aside, it seems to me that growing “yold” is just a metaphor for Outwitting Life. Who knew I was on the cusp of starting a whole new generation? Now, that’s something exciting I can get behind! Thank you for being a part of Outwitting Life for the last six months. I hope we can continue to grow yold together in the years to come! I am looking forward to continuing to Outwit Life in this new decade.