I wrote my last blog post in January, and now it is March. We even had an extra day this February, yet the month felt too short. March did not come in like a lion as the saying goes, instead it is a cool, still morning filled with overcast skies. It is one of those days, where one can feel the moisture in the air to the point that it is as if they are standing in a morning mist or cloud of fog, but neither are true. It is just the Houston humidity, keeping our skin looking youthful.
Yesterday, marked the start of new beginnings. I woke up alone and content, well as alone as a woman with three cats and a spoiled doggie can ever be. I took Little Chirp to school, and then I went for a three-mile run before work. I took some time for myself. I met one of my coworkers for coffee and we talked about self-improvements and accountability. I shared my plans to refocus my energy on being a mom, my career, and losing weight.
That third item is the most difficult for me. I like to eat. Borrowing from a popular internet meme and modifying it to fit me, “There is a skinny girl inside of me, and she is screaming for a loaf of sour dough bread.” Why isn’t sour dough bread a diet food? It is so yummy.
As luck would have it, we kicked off a fitness challenge at work yesterday. I plan to give my full participation, hence the three-mile run before work yesterday. Today, it will be a walk, and tomorrow it will be a long run. The prize for the first-place finisher in the challenge is an Amazon gift card. I wonder if Amazon sells sour dough bread.
I will spend the day working on my book, while Little Chirp is at some sort of coding competition that I am trying to understand but don’t. After the competition, we will have an early dinner, and then I will get back to my writing. Little Chirp and I are co-writing the book, and he is about half a dozen chapters ahead of me. The kid can write. He is even better at research for the book.
I am not sure what March will bring. I am sure that I will not be berated or accused of being a cheat. I could expend mental energy regretting the time that I wasted this past year trying to make a relationship work at the expense of time with Little Chirp, progress on my book, and furthering my career, but I am not going to do that. What I am going to decide is that I will never go back to that. It is not about dwelling on the past; it is about focusing my energy on the things that matter to me and holding myself accountable.
I can decide to live with regret, or I can decide to look forward to the future. Either way, time marches on.