Welcome back to SOLO at SIXTY!
First week of 2020 is in the books folks! Did you write 2019 by accident this week? Did you break any of the resolutions you made last week? Have to admit, mine are going pretty well, all things considered. Kept up with them every day – I’ll share details later in the year. And I did not let anything or anyone steal my joy, not even Carolina’s loss to Georgia Tech at home, which has not happened in 10 years. Even found a couple of bright spots in that loss. (Always look for the positives!) Many other things brought me joy this week. Visited my older daughter and son-in-law on New Year’s Day, even though I had just taken her cycle class the day before. (You can never see your kids too much!) Besides, they were helping me with a project. Treated them to lunch as a thank you. And had some good girl-time shopping with my daughter, which we have not done in a long time.
“New year – a new chapter, new verse, or just the same old story? Ultimately, we write it. The choice is ours.” Alex Morritt
Also found much joy in running this week, in WARM January weather, moving up to 35 minutes. WOOHOO! Amazing how long it takes to get back into running shape, no matter how many cycle classes you have taken. Running is just a totally different workout. And one I have missed. Finally starting to feel more like my “old self” (over a year later!) – running (not worrying about pace or distance, just time) and getting back into the athletic conditioning classes I have sorely missed. Taking good care of my knees – icing and stretching. With a race scheduled the end of March and another one in April, I don’t have that long to get back into running shape. But I will. Determination. I walked these same 2 races last year, one in a brace. This year, I will run them – not setting any personal records, but I will run them.
“Your speed doesn’t matter, forward is forward.”
If you are on Facebook, do you have those memories that pop up from a year, 2 years, even 7 years ago? Kinda like having a diary. You see them and it’s like “Oh… I forgot I was at the beach this time last year” or “Awww… my daughters ran that race with me 5 years ago” or “OH… it snowed today 3 years ago!” My blog is like that in many ways for me. Each week, one of my prior blogs pops up on my FB feed (SOLO at SIXTY has a Facebook page that shares to my personal page). Fun for me to go back and read what I was doing, thinking, and going through same time last year, or the year before. (Blog started in May 2017.) And since I never deleted any of my FB pics from my past, old pictures pop up all the time with the “On This Day “X” Years Ago…” At one time it was a shock to the heart when these old pics from my past popped up. Now, not so much. I mean, I have been SOLO for almost 4 years. And hindsight is 20/20 after all.
“You know you’re on the right path when you feel good about moving forward and could care less about looking back.” – Kristen Butler
Hindsight is 20/20. Heard that before? Who hasn’t? Who hasn’t said, “well I should not have done that… hindsight is 20/20!”? Meaning, I should have known better. I have had MANY hindsight is 20/20 moments in my life. But honestly, many of those taught me lessons. The biggest? DON’T DRIVE INTO STANDING WATER! Talk about hindsight being 20/20 – I should have turned around! Better yet, I never should have set out for the beach until I knew all the roads were open and safe. Lesson learned. The hardest way. But I did meet a very sweet couple that day!
If you could, would you go back and change things, having 20/20 vision in hindsight? I often think about this. Would I not have transferred to Wake Forest and instead stayed at Carolina? Yep, I often wish I had not made that decision. But at the time, it was the right decision, and it gave me the best kids a mom could ever ask for, and some very special friends. Do I wish we had not moved to Virginia 23 years ago and stayed in NC with my family near by? Yes, I often wish that too – I missed a lot with my family. BUT, it was a wonderful decision for my children, and ultimately for me – the friends I made, friends my kids made, their education and opportunities, my opportunities, plus my older daughter met her husband here. So wow, even with 20/20 hindsight vision, I would not change anything. Well, except the car thing!
“Look forward with hope, rather than backward with regret.”
So maybe the 20/20 hindsight concept is not to regret things in our past, but to appreciate the lessons learned. Maybe in the YEAR 2020, we should remember that yes, hindsight is 20/20, but it is very easy to be wise AFTER an event. Let’s make 2020 memorable. After all, it’s the beginning of a new decade. We won’t look back next New Years with 20/20 hindsight or regret. We’ll travel through this year together, with grit and grace. Sure there will be disappointments and challenges along the way, but we won’t let them control our year. We will not let anyone or anything steal our joy. We will find something to be thankful for and we will perform at least one random act of kindness every day. We will make time for our friends and family. We will think about our health. We will make the most of 2020, because as we all know, none of us is promised tomorrow.
“Behind you, all your memories. Before you, all your dreams. Around you, all who love you. Within you, all you need.”
Best,
Leslie
PS It was 50 degrees Monday, snowed Tuesday, 50 today, and supposed to be almost 70 this weekend. I did not let the snow traffic or it taking me an hour+ to get home steal my joy! Instead, I relished the beautiful snow!
SOLO at SIXTY 