Such a long time since I wrote here …. but I’ve missed my blog and am keen to start writing more often. Life has often thrown a challenge or two at me and none more challenging than what I’ve been dealing with this year. I might write about it at some point but the time isn’t right right now.

So this is a kind of “welcome back” post and a reminder to myself of what my goal is for this year:

To put myself first

Now that might sound selfish, but after over 20 years of being there for other people, I’m finally feeling like I just need to be there for me. To do whatever it is that I want to do, or need to do, when I want or need to do it.

For too long I’ve worked hard throughout the week and decided to “treat” myself to a relaxing weekend doing nothing – and then felt disappointed on Sunday evening that I’ve done nothing! So one of my goals this year is to do something every weekend – even if it’s just window shopping, or people watching, or a long soak in the bath. Just to DO things rather than waste away the time.

Because time is precious. Recently a friend died very suddenly and it once again made me realise how short life is, how precious our days on this planet are, and that we really don’t know when our time is up. My friend was all for making the most of life and living each day to the full, and that’s what I plan to do from now on.

I also want to be more creative. Admittedly I’m not the most creative person but I do enjoy wielding a paint brush, or sticking things together, or cooking, or writing. So another goal this year is to spend more time being crafty.

I’ve managed to lose the weight that has been with me for over 20 years so a third goal is to keep the weight off – to maintain my current level of health and fitness. And sometimes that means saying NO to other people and YES to what I want to do.

And finally, I want to have more and better relationships with other people. I’ve realised I don’t need people generally – I hate relying on others and find it difficult to ask for help. After all, 20 years of pretty much doing everything for myself means I’m fairly self-sufficient really. But I’ve also realised that I want people in my life. I have a few wonderful friends, and my family are always there for me, but I also want friends to spend time with, and I want a soulmate to grow old with. And that’s not going to happen while I sit on my sofa watching EastEnders, is it?

So 2018 is something of a year of adventure .. a year to be more, do more, experience more and have more. The sky is the limit … Watch this space…