Around the middle of July, I had a moment where I realized that if I didn't start doing something different, nothing was going to change. I know, I know...DUH! But this time it wasn't even about losing weight or gaining muscle, it was about the fact that I had become so sedentary, I was huffing and puffing to go up and down the stairs in our house, and I could barely keep up with my family as they trekked across various Walt Disney World theme parks earlier in the summer. This, I decided, was unacceptable and something needed to change. And that something...was me.
I saw a post on IG around the same time that said:
- The heart attack at 50 began at 20.
- The Alzheimer's at 70 started at 40.
- The loss of independence at 80 began at 30.
- The aging you want tomorrow begins with the choices you make today.
And it really struck me. I'll be 45 this year. Halfway to 90. From here on out, I start rounding up...meaning I'm closer to 50 than I am to 40. The Hubs is already in his 50s. We have two adult kids, four teenagers, and when the next World Cup rolls around (assuming the whole world isn't boycotting it), we will be about a month shy of having five adult kids out in the world. Empty-nesting is on the horizon and I'd hate to get there and be too winded to do anything with it.
And so I started walking. Again. Daily. Usually just laps around our driveway. I listened to audiobooks. I prayed. I enjoyed the blue sky and the rain and did my best to walk early to avoid the heat and humidity. Sometimes it was just a few laps, snatched before the day got hectic, and other times it was several audiobook chapters before I went back inside. While the kids were in Africa this summer, I pulled out the push mower and did my part to keep the lawn trimmed (and, maybe, my waist as well). I stopped saying, "I need to..." and I just started doing. Even on the days when I didn't feel like it. As of hitting "publish" on this post (scheduled to go live at 3 AM), I've successfully walked 46 days out of the last 49 days. Today will be day 47.
Whether it's incorporating movement into your daily schedule or intentionally connecting with a friend who you've "been meaning to" get together with, it's time to stop making excuses to yourself and figure out what you can actually do to make a change. Take the stairs, park farther away from the store, text the friend, issue the invitation, put the phone down, read the book. If you don't like where you are now, you're the only one who can do anything different. Remember...what you do today will make a difference--for you, for your family, for your friends--tomorrow and next month and 20 years from you. Do something different.
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| Photo by C.G. Koens, onethousandpens.blogspot.com |
August was not a slow month. At the end of the first week, we drove down to Florida and picked up four of our kids who had spent their summers in Madagascar and Malawi, three of whom returned to us with flu-like symptoms lasting several days and generously shared with their father. When the car pulled back into our driveway the countdown began as we had a brief window for them to see friends and family, share about their summer adventures, recover from jet lag and illness, and then pack up again for a four-hour drive north, launching daughter #2 off on her college journey. Five days later, we began our sixth official year of homeschooling the three who were left (one senior, two freshman!), chauffeuring to new jobs, building driving hours (and saving accounts) to get another licensed driver, all while working to pay the bills, going to doctor's appointments with my aging father, and opening our home for fellowship and ministry to those who are weary and in need of encouragement. God sustains.
Reading? Oh, yeah, I did a little of that, too.
- The Case of the Reincarnated Client by Tarquin Hall - ⭐⭐⭐ This was not the first book I've read in this series, but it has been a number of years since I read the last one, and I remember not being favorably impressed with it. But, as I said, since it had been a number of years, when I saw this on Kindle for cheap this month, I decided to give it another try. And it was...confusing. There were a number of characters and plot lines going on, and it was a little challenging to keep them all straight (who was whose daughter and wife, who was involved in which part of which stories from the past, etc.). Although I recall enjoying the very first book in the series (The Case of the Missing Servant) and gave it four stars on Goodreads, and while I do enjoy the cultural aspect of the series being set in India, I'm not sure it's still my style. However, it's enjoyable to read a cozy mystery that's not set in a British village, and Vish Puri's Mummy-ji is an unexpectedly fun sidekick. If you decide to give this series a try, I would start with book 1, skip book 4 (The Case of the Love Commandos), and consider book #5...if you find it for cheap on Kindle (as I did). {Amazon Associates - Book #1, Book #5 - Currently $0.99 on Kindle)
- My Beloved by Jan Karon - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Okay, this is honestly a hard review for me. First of all, you have to understand that I absolutely love the Mitford series. It's one of the few series that I have re-read multiple times, and will go back to time and time again when life is heavy. A trip to Mitford, a stop at the Happy Endings bookstore or groceries from the Local, a visit out to Meadowgate Farm or a conversation with Uncle Billy...it's like stepping back into a simpler time and I am here for it. All of it. And I love this surprise bonus book in the Father Tim series, and I love that it centers around Christmas (a common theme in this series). I assumed we'd never get another book from Karon, and if you read her note in the end, we almost didn't. All that being said...this is a very different, more choppy, style that one is used to from her earlier books. It's not my favorite, and that makes me a little sad, but it also made me remember my mom, in the best way (she loved reading Mitford with me), and I think she would have had lots to say about the style of this one, but we still would have enjoyed reading it together and comparing notes. So...as a good friend wrote in her review of this on Goodreads...die-hard Mitford fans should definitely read this, but if you've never read Mitford...start at Book #1. {Amazon Associates - Book #1, Book #15}
And that's it. That's all I marked off my TBR list in August. But I'm still ahead of schedule, and I upped the number of books I set as my goal to read for the year, so I'm still counting it as a win. I've got a number of books in progress at the moment, and loads of books on my physical and electronic shelves, so I'm not lacking for content. I'm also attempting to finish The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett on my free trial of Audible. I'm on Chapter 11, and I cannot say I'm a fan so far. Everyone I've seen who has read it says to push through and it gets better, but it's a bit of a slog at the moment. Stay tuned...
What was on YOUR nightstand this month?
What book did you enjoy and what book are you pushing through?
