Month: January 2025

A Bad Day

“Was it a bad day?

  Or was it a bad five minutes that you milked all day?”

~Unknown

We all have bad days. My new year has not started out well. I was sick as I stepped into the first week of January, then I took my car in for a winter tire exchange only to find I needed a full brake job that cost me $1800+. My right knee, which has bothered me for years, is the worst it’s ever been, and I have started physiotherapy twice a week to try and resolve that and avoid surgery if I can.

I can look at the flip side of all these problems. Being sick stopped me in my tracks of a life that I notoriously fill to the brim with activity. I was quiet, read books, watched movies, wrote friendly e-mails, and had ample amounts of time to think about my life and my future.

We know that cars cost money. They are not an investment that keeps growing. I can rest assured that my brakes and emergency brake are now set for many years of use with no problems.

Although my physiotherapy is not easy, I have found an exercise program that works! This is my third time investing in the GLA:D program for those with identified osteoarthritis in knees or hips over several years. I attend bi-weekly and look forward to getting stronger with each session. And if it doesn’t, then I will look at surgery. I am thankful that I haven’t had to do that yet.

So, when people ask how are you, I don’t focus on my lousy beginning to my year. I say, I’m feeling great now, thank you. My car got fixed and I got extra visits in with my daughter and family as they helped me out by lending me their car over five days. Bonus! I have started my physiotherapy and I am confident that I will get stronger as the weeks pass. How lucky I am that I have access to such a program with my benefit package.

Yes, the year started out badly but it also had many benefits. I could dwell on the negatives and make myself miserable and probably all those around me as I complain constantly. Or, I could say, yay, I got through that and I move forward with expectations of good things happening. I choose what I focus on. I choose to find the positives out of negative situations and live my life with hope and gratitude. We all can do that. Choose to be happy.

Don’t Be Afraid to Dream

We all have dreams, but do we have the courage to live those dreams?

I remember a friend telling me she was too fearful to ask for love in her life because she was so afraid that if she got it, it would be ripped out of her life like a tablecloth being ripped off a table pulling all the fancy china with it. She was so afraid of achieving her dream because she was already anticipating the pain of losing it.

I told her that maybe, just maybe, the dishes will remain solidly on the table. That’s what makes it “the magical tablecloth trick.” If we never take the gamble, we will never get to experience the joy of living our dreams.

It doesn’t matter what the dream is. Maybe you desire a fancy car but won’t get it because you’re afraid it will get scratched in the parking lot or stolen. Perhaps you desire a child but can’t stomach the thought of losing that child while they are still young.  Or maybe you have a dream to travel but won’t because you’re afraid you’ll get pick-pocketed or catch some horrible disease if you do. Maybe you want a better job, but you don’t believe you’re capable of handling it.

Just dream. And start stepping towards the fulfillment of that dream. Believing it will come true and all will be well takes courage as well as an acceptance that it might not. But how will I ever know unless I take those first steps and begin the journey?

Happy New Year 2025

Waking up into the first day of 2025, I am feeling a little better after days of sickness. I think I’m on the upswing.

I’ve been hearing the word ‘resolutions’ a lot in the last 24 hours, and I have been sure that I had none for this coming year of 2025. But the more I think about it, I do have some hopes and dreams. I spent a lot of time working on my new book in 2024 and now that it’s complete, it’s time to focus on some new goals.

I am embracing my health, and have already signed up for 10 weeks of physiotherapy for my right knee that has been slowly getting worse for the last twenty years. It’s time again to work on fortifying those muscles surrounding my joints and my core and regain my strength and ability to keep moving and doing the things I want to do. I start next week with a wonderful program that I have used before called the GLA:D Program, an eight-week group exercise and educational program developed in Denmark for people with symptoms of knee or hip osteoarthritis (OA). GLA:D. stands for “Good Life with OsteoArthritis: Denmark”. It’s a very effective program, and it’s either that or surgery. I much prefer the physiotherapy.

I bought a used RV back in September 2023 and did manage to use it a few times in 2024. I plan on even more camping with family and friends and maybe even some extended road trips this coming year. I need to start planning and booking those if they’re going to happen.

I want to see more of friends and family. Years of COVID and isolation have taken its toll and this is the year that I want to step out and see people and places I’ve been missing for years. Again, it takes an effort and some pre-planning. It’s not going to happen with just a simple “One of these days, we’ll get together . . . “.

Wherever I travel, I will be taking my new book “For the Love of Food: Family Edition” with me, perhaps even doing a small book tour across parts of Canada. Again, it’s going to take some planning and organization. It won’t just happen on its own.

So, I have something to look forward to. I hope you are allowing yourself to dream and are making some plans to achieve your dreams. May 2025 be a year of fulfillment. Happy New Year!