My new project

I turned 44 this year. It has been quite the year, actually the past 5 years or so have been years of growth borne from life's usual difficulties and of course lots of joys. For some reason this year feels like a turning point. Maybe it is because my oldest is going away to college, or because I have started working on a Ph.D. or just because I feel myself moving (I'm not there yet!) to a stronger and wiser place.

One of my colleagues at work, who is a serious bicyclist (I am a commuting/recreational cyclist), wrote on my card "Now you need to bike your years in miles." I thought...I could do that! Well, maybe not today or tomorrow, but before the snow flies, certainly. Then I thought, what else could I do 44 of? Actually, I decided on 45 because it's a nice round number, and technically, this is my 45th year.

I meditate some and do yoga some, but I've never made a serious commitment. I've done silent group retreats, and one solo retreat during a key transitional point in my life many years ago, so my second goal will be to go on a 45-hour solo retreat, at some point during the next year. I don't THINK 45 hours will be much of a challenge, but taking the next step to 45 days would be way too long for me! The point of this goal is to make a deeper commitment to spiritual practice.

Deciding on my third goal was easy. I love knitting especially, and dabble in making all kinds of things, from sewn items to handmade paper to homemade preserves. This goal won't be as easy to execute as it was to decide on, because I tend to flit from one project to the next without completing things. I probably have at least 12 knitted UFO's (I refuse to count the exact number!). So this goal is to complete 45 handmade items. They can be things I've already started, in fact, that's part of the point.

Thanks for reading about my journey! It should be an interesting year!