Welcome back to SOLO at SIXTY!
Our warm weather was very short-lived up here. Back to the freezing cold temperatures. At least it has been sunny. Well mostly.
Last weekend was a busy one for me. I worked. All weekend. Our auditor was here to review our financial year end. This is my busiest time of year as I am responsible for producing our year-end financial statements (and all the supporting schedules for each of our 12 clubs), completing 2018 budgets, and setting up everything for the new year. We have discovered it is easier to work through the weekend with fewer interruptions. It wasn’t as bad as it sounds. He’s not your typical boring auditor. Younger guy (comparatively speaking) with 5 kids and lots of good stories. I have worked with him for over 10 years and he knows me very well, so he knew I needed to get a workout in on Saturday morning. And I was involved with my first code – called when a member is injured, sick, or unresponsive. There was an emergency at the club. Luckily, this one wasn’t too dire of a code, but the EMS was called. Our team went into immediate action. Luckily, as it always seems to happen, a doctor was right there on the track. And me? Well, I ran and got cold towels and water. I stayed with our member until the EMS arrived. Remember earlier when I told you everyone at ACAC has to be CPR certified? This includes our administrative team members, even the bean counters like me. Well I was telling her how every team member is CPR certified (just talking to her) and she asked what I did at ACAC. I am sure it did not reassure her when I said, “I produce all the financial statements.” That’s probably not what she was hoping to hear. But I do think she was happy I was there. I was.
“You have two hands. One to help yourself, the second to help others.”
I also told her about the time I collapsed while running the Charlottesville 10-miler. It was my first big, long race. April 1, 2006 (no fooling!). I had never run in a race that long and was nervous, but it was for a very good cause. However, I had trained all winter in cold, even snowy weather, and low and behold it was very warm that April 1st! I was overdressed and overstressed. Made it 9.5 miles when I went down. No memory of it. No memory of them asking me who I was (no clue) or what day it was (again no clue) or even of riding in the ambulance to the hospital. Only remember waking up in the ER and asking the nurse if I was ok. Then worrying about my daughter who was waiting at the finish line, and my other children waiting on a call about the race. I was ok. I was given 3+ bags of fluids and after complaining about my wrist, an x-ray determined it was broken, a result of my collapse. I had suffered a heat stroke and was told I probably would never remember the details. It’s true, I still do not remember. What I do remember is thinking afterwards, “Wow, I ran 9.5 miles and probably lost some LB’s.” NOPE. They put so much fluid in me I could barely move! Just kidding… but I did receive a ton of fluid. And was so embarrassed. I mean, I could have walked across the finish line in just half a mile! Ran it again a couple of years later just to prove to myself I could. And I did.
“Helping one person might not change the whole world, but it could change the world for one person”
When I went down in that race, several runners helped me, including a wonderful doctor running near me who stopped to help and stayed with me until the EMS arrived. Also, my daughter’s field hockey coach rode by on her bike and stopped to help, and oddly enough, she was the only person I recognized. I said to her “are you Miss Field Hockey Lady?” Don’t remember that either! She went to find my daughter and let her know. But they all took very good care of me, and sacrificed their “time” in the race. I was comforted by the concern of the people who stopped to help, which is all I did for the lady in my class.
“Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us everyday.” Sally Koch
How have you been lately? Happy? Sad? Did you know that this past Monday, January 15th, is known as “Blue Monday”, the saddest day of the year? The third Monday of the new year is considered the most depressing day due to many factors including the cold and often dreary weather, the holidays are in our rear view mirror but the holiday debt is right up front, and our New Year’s resolutions may have floundered while all the food and drink consumed during the holidays have added to our waistlines. OK, honestly, it is a hoax y’all. A marketing ploy started by a travel group in 2005 to convince people they needed to book a trip to get themselves out of the doldrums surrounding this time of the year. For our fitness clubs, the 3rd Monday of January is one of our busiest days! So if you do find yourself feeling sad or low, trust me, working out is one of the best ways to pull yourself up!
“Winter blues should only refer to the color of the ocean.”
I also have a discovery to share with you. Thanks to the wonderful blog, Jersey Jenn’s Kitchen, by the daughter-in-law of my late friend Luanne, I discovered the Little Big Meals offered at Fresh Market Grocery Store for $20-$25. These meals include everything you need, chopped and ready to go, and will feed a family of 4+. For me, SOLO, I get them when I am having company, or to have and freeze extra servings for later. I have served their chili, lasagna, and Chicken Parmesan. The chili included chicken or beef, cut up fresh onions and peppers, canned beans, 2 cans of tomatoes, grated cheese, sour cream, and 6 corn muffins. Made this for my sister and brother-in-law and we all loved it, plus I had leftovers that I froze. Told my co-workers who also purchased it and loved it. My kids and I had the lasagna (meat and veggie), salad, bread, and Gelato before Christmas. Will do it again. You need to try these. The offering changes every Wednesday. So easy, so good, so fresh, so inexpensive, so convenient with everything ready for you to cook.
So, how are your New Year’s resolutions working out? Me? I read a really good book, Winter Solstice by Elin Hilderbrand. Have not started my knitting lessons yet but found some options for lessons. My kids are succeeding in theirs – my son cancelled Netflix and is reading the latest Baldacci book I gave him for Christmas, my older daughter is not “snoozing” anymore at 4:30 am but getting right up (well most of the time), and my editor, I mean, my younger daughter has been meeting a friend at the gym later at night since ACAC opened a new 24/7 club the end of December. Don’t give up on your plans. Refocus yourself this week. Concentrate on what makes you fulfilled and happy. Be there for others, lending a helping hand when needed, because as we all know, tomorrow is not promised to any of us.
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” Martin Luther King, Jr.
Stay warm,
Leslie
SOLO at SIXTY 