50 Weeks to 50

I had a square birthday at the beginning of the month (you know, 7-squared?), which means a birthday ending in a zero is just around the corner. Due to craziness of life, I was away on a mission trip on my typically-self-reflection-filled anniversary of birth, and then have had a wonderful first half of July with family in town to celebrate my perfect mom and her own day-ending-in-a-zero. Plus, her little sequel/namesake was baptized on Sunday, and D's cousin and family stopped by for two days...anyway, fun family times ensued!

But I finally had a quiet day of meditation and reflection yesterday (which is what I call days when I stay home and do laundry), and set some focus areas for the next fifty weeks as I approach the magic number of 50. When I set goals, it's really about budgeting my time. I have a terrible habit of looking around at bedtime and asking, "What did I do today?" but if I really, really work at it, I can schedule and achieve actual desired outcomes each day...little things that add up to the life I want to live over the course of a year. I have been using the Passion Planner, and I really like the calendar and planning features, especially when it comes to brainstorming what I want five years from now, or a year from now, or just three months from now.

First, my priority category is FAITH. I've gotten so busy this summer that I've been saying things like, "Hey, God, great day, thanks for it!" and crashing off to sleep. Or, "Hey, God, today's got a lot going on, so hang with me and hold me up, 'kay?" But generally I like to have a bit more theology in my life than that, so I'm ready to set aside time and schedule my day around our date time together. Once CBS starts back in the fall, I have Thursdays with the ladies as part of my routine, which in turn pushes good quality study and reading on my daily work. But I include in this category all the things I do to lean fully on the Gospel every day, including things I do to love on other people and to love my city where God has placed me. So, I'm stepping up my charitable works and my social involvement in areas that are important to me, and that's all part of my FAITH.

Next, FAMILY. You'll notice that three of my five categories are relational, and that's typical of me. I set all these relational goals, then I focus on the ones I "can control" (when will I give up the mythology that I am in control of anything????). Anyway, I am prioritizing my FAMILY over the next year. It's not that I've ignored my family. Hey, I home schooled my kids, and I love their husbands, and I have seen both my sister and parents already this summer...and my brother is coming next month. You only have to follow my Instagram to know that I adore my beautiful granddaughters, Gingersnap and Gumdrop (so cool they have aliases). But I want to be more intentional in our relationships, so they go on my calendar first. Plus, my girls have gotten very busy with their active lives, and it's only fair and respectful for me to treat our time together as precious. Scheduling them in regularly is important to me. You'd think that since we all live in the same town we see each other routinely, but that is not the case without intentionality. My FAMILY deserves more than an occasional text of a funny meme.

After that...FRIENDSHIPS. I have lived here eleven years (next month), and I have been blessed with some long-time friendships. Not only do I have the Sugar Creek Quilters who come over every week, and who have raised teenagers with me, married off kids with me, and become grandparents with me...or at least continue to do life with me...but I also have an amazing church family, a sweet small group, and precious friends through D's flying club. I'm going to focus on being a better friend, and intentionally make time to deepen those relationships. They are my people.

Okay, so after the relational areas...what are those mythical areas I can control? Well, I'm calling it FITNESS FUN, but I'm not sure my brain believes it yet. Even so, I'm scheduling my Whole9Life around all the areas that I need for physical and emotional balance. You know I'm human, right? I'm not sure I remember that all the time. It's one reason I "retired" from teaching, because often both the organization and I forgot that I was human. Turns out, I'm still forgetting. So, you'll see me set aside time for nutrition, training, sleep (who needs sleep? Oh, I guess I do.), stress management, socialization, getting my nature on (natural environment), personal growth, fun & play, and temperance. Yes, temperance. If you wonder about these categories, check out Whole9Life. You've probably heard of Whole30, because it's all the buzz right now, but a balanced life is way more than nutrition.

Last, but certainly not least, is a category I'm calling 50/50 FINISHED PROJECTS. It's going to include room for new projects and completion of previously begun "unfinished" projects. What first comes to mind are my art/quilt projects, but it has implications for all other areas of my life. I'm going to divide my work time pretty equally between finishing up projects I've designed and begun, and starting new projects that excite me.

So, here's the wrap up:

Five Areas of Focus in 50 Weeks to 50

1) FAITH
2) FAMILY
3) FRIENDSHIPS
4) FITNESS FUN
5)50/50 FINISHED PROJECTS

I'm going to use this space to keep me accountable and evaluate my trajectory toward 50 as the weeks go. That means probably one post a week, which will more than double the length of this blog. The 50/50 posts will more than likely end up over at Island Time Quilting instead of here, and I'll leave all the angsty-personal stuff for this space where I just say whatever I think.

Oh, and like all good goal-setting posts...this all starts next week. Ha! My birthday falls on a Friday next year...but I'll start weeks on Sundays, so I'll be in my 50th week when I hit the magic number. I'm okay with that.

If you are local, and you want to join me on any part of this adventure, let me know! Community Bible Study meets on Thursday mornings at Grace Church from 9:45-11:45 this fall, and follows the school calendar pretty closely (so you get breaks for holidays). If you are my friend, let's schedule lunch! Or shopping! Or just coffee, if you are busy. And if you want to change the direction of your FITNESS FUN (face it, I mean feel better, sleep better, snore less, eat delicious food, and get real exercise that causes you to sweat), read It Starts With Food. I'm reading it again to see what my brain needs to believe to get serious about healthy living.

And as always, Quilters...I love to see what you are doing, and you know I'm going to post about mine. Sorry for your luck if you don't like quilts.

50 weeks to 50! (You should see the goofy things I'll write as goals for 55...)