What About Your Future?
Last year, for my 60th birthday, my son and daughter- in- love gave me a subscription to an online service called, Story Worth.
Each week I received a question by email about my life:
my childhood
being a mom
relationships
how I met Grandpa, etc.
In addition, I could make up my own questions.
I absolutely loved this gift and a year + later, I have 61 stories.
When I have mentioned this to other women, some groan, “Ugh, my kids gave me one of those. I felt so pressured, I never did it.” I find that shocking!
There was absolutely no pressure. I could answer or not answer any one of the questions. It was fun bringing my granddaughter (or whoever else reads it) into my life, my mind, and my heart for an inside view. I was honest and straightforward, but also playful and humorous. I got to talk about my parents and my grandparents, the DDT trucks that went through my neighborhood poisoning us all for the sake of getting rid of mosquitos (Who thought THAT was a good idea?) and what life was like 60 years ago. So, over the past year I spent time telling my future generations things they otherwise would never know about me.
Now a year later, my book is bound and I gotta say, it’s pretty cool!
As an adult I have always loved to journal. One year my husband gave me a book for Mother’s Day where I could hand write my answers to questions for my kids to be able to read later- uh pretty sure that’s intended for after I die. Indeed, while my youngest was growing up she would say, “That’s the book I get when Mommy dies.” Well folks, there you have it!
Sometimes writing things down is easier than saying them out loud to someone. I mean, sure, I’ll take the easy way out on that one! What’s interesting to me is that I probably shared more deeply in the handwritten one I have from 20 years ago than I did in Story Worth. Maybe that’s because the Story Worth book goes to my granddaughter. For instance, I did share that I got in a fight in 6th grade after accusing a classmate of stuffing her bra, "to make her boobs look bigger" (I’m sure I was jealous. I was quite a Flatsy Patsy in those days), but I didn’t share that I smoked pot in high school. Ok not extensively…but c’mon, it was the 70’s.
The entire exercise of writing this book which I called, Life Stories For My Grandchildren (hint, hint kids…hoping for more) was a great review of my life.
But what interests me more, is the question of my future. Do you find yourself thinking the same?
I’m 61. What will 71, 81, 91 be like? I truly believe life isn’t just something that happens to you. You can be the captain of your own ship, to a large extent.
Or should I say, “You can be the author of your own book”?
And what do I want as I age?
I want to be mobile-
so I go to a resistance training Bootcamp 2x/week, walk outside 6 days/week and jump on my rebounder…often.
I want to be physically healthy-
so I keep my carbs low, eat whole foods, intermittent fast and focus on good quality sleep.
I don’t want to be on a list of medications-
so I see my amazing chiropractor regularly, stay in touch with my integrative doctor, listen to online wholistic practioners, and look for natural alternatives for what ails me.
I want a healthy brain-
so I play Wordle on my phone, play card games with others, read books, eat healthy fats, drink lots of filtered water and stay connected with people.
And…I don’t want to wear diapers-
so I make sure my pelvic floor is healthy, check in with my physical therapist as needed, take organic psyllium husk powder and magnesium every night, use a squatty potty and avoid sugar.
All that to say, “So far, so good……”
What about you?
ANNOUNCEMENT:
In September I will begin offering Wellness Parties.
These are FREE evening events where you provide the people and the place and I bring the party!
We’ll spend time together learning to relax, getting a little physical exercise, eating and hearing some novel ways of maintaining or increasing your (and 6-7 of your friends’) health as you age.
Reply to this email if you would like to know more!
Who doesn’t love a party??
*Local to Bloomington-Normal IL and surrounding areas.
Finally, I would be remiss if I signed off without updating you on the cicadas.
They. Never. Showed. Up.
Ok, get this- we don’t get the 17-year cicadas here. We never have. The crazy thing is, I thought we did. I think I even convinced my 31-year-old son that we had them here. My husband kept saying, “Well, I guess they just didn’t show up this time.” No honey, this isn’t a new phenomenon. The process started hundreds of years ago. The whole thing makes me a little concerned about my brain. As a former mental health nurse, I’m wondering if this is some sort of hallucination or the start of dementia! If that latter is the case, I’m signing off to eat an avocado and play some Wordle!
I'll check in again in August....
Be kind to your body (and your mind), dear reader!
Talk soon,
Renee