So. Big news, all. And? It’s not mine. But I have permission to tell it so here goes: Andrea got a GREAT, new, job! Not that her old job wasn’t great. But this one has some REALLY nice benefits and pays more. Mindblowingly more compared to where I came from – which was having enough for the basics covered but not enough when life went off track as it’s prone to do.
Last Saturday, after the news had broken, we drove up to Nashua, NH and marveled at our good fortune that we have cars that run when we turn the key and, when they don’t, we have money to get them repaired without delay. As if to test this theory, Andrea’s car wouldn’t start after we’d shopped at Trader Joe’s. Neither of us had our AAA cards so we frantically searched for our information online. When I was just starting out, Jason introduced me to AAA and the wonder that is their Premier membership. Premier tows your car up to 100 miles at no cost to you. And? When I was starting out, I needed and used this feature more than once. I’ve continued to pay extra for this benefit for over 20 years - - particularly since my last job had me on the road a lot. So a small AAA truck rolled onto the scene and Andrea astutely muttered, “that’s not a tow truck.” Turns out, we didn’t need a tow because the car started right up. We later got the car checked and it was fine. I like to think that the universe was making sure we were going to stay humble. Work hard, stay humble.
When I was growing up, I knew I wanted to go to college but beyond that, I didn’t have a dream. I did, however, verbalize to my mom that I wanted to live in a loft with a cat and drink New York seltzer. Nailed it. Except New York seltzer has a surprising number of calories in their small bottles so I don’t do that (more on that in a moment when I get to my 18 in ’18 update). But surprisingly, my home has a loft and I have exceeded my cat quota. I’ve been spending more time in my loft this month using the Headspace app (thanks, Kelly!). Just a few minutes each day. Interestingly, I am already recognizing feelings and able to recognize my response to them as I doggedly chase them and then realize, “Oh wait. I don’t have to do this. I can let this shit go.” And at that point, I sit back and watch the feeling roll by. As a disciple of Thich Nhat Hahn, this was not new to me but I lost sight of that. Thich says, “Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.” I’m committing to sit in meditation for each day in February.
Speaking of commitment, I’ve gotten my shit together around my diet which had spiraled into a dark pit of carbs and sugar. So I haven’t had sugar or simple carbs so far this year and have lost 13.9 pounds so far. Sugar is my crack. If I have one gd piece of candy from the candy bowl at work, that gd candy bowl calls my name all day long. I used to say, “Well of course I can quit drinking. But I cannot give up EATING!” I finally came to the realization that while that’s true, there are certain things I can give up eating. I know. Duh. So just for today, I’m not going to eat sugar or simple carbs.
