A few years ago, my oldest brother recommended that I see the movie, Love, Actually. In this one film, the separate love stories of several couples are told, yet all the stories are intertwined. It's kind of an "E Pluribus Unum" kind of tale.
This blog is going to be something like that movie: A lot of stories, all related to me. It sounds egotistical to state it that way, I know, but in writing about my experiences, perhaps you will find something that will be of help to you, too. I do apologize ahead of time for the abundance of personal pronouns that will undoubtedly be used. They are almost unavoidable when discussing oneself.
The very basics about me are these: I am currently 61 years old, a female retired elementary school teacher (most recently having taught second grade in an urban setting). I have two adult children, one boy, one girl, two grandsons, a son-in-law, three brothers, and one sister, who has Down Syndrome. My parents are deceased. I am twice divorced, taking the blame for the first marriage's failure only. I count both my former husbands among my friends. I am 5'4" tall, and if I could change one thing about myself, I would add a couple of inches to my height. Then I could reach the top shelf of a lot more cabinets than I am currently able to get to. Currently, I have no pets, though I have had an abundance of pets from all the standard pet groups and a couple of the non-standard type. Breeding boxers helped put me through college. I am Catholic and politically I lean towards conservatism. I love romantic comedies, crossword puzzles, a wide variety of art/artists and music/musicians. Disneyworld is my favorite vacation spot, but Sea World is my second favorite place to visit. It's not even worth my time to begin to pick my favorite type of television programming. It's easier to say I'm not into sports. I adore live theater. Although I've never smoked, never been drunk, never abused (or misused) drugs, or have ever been arrested, rest assured I have never needed halo polish. I found plenty of ways to get into trouble.
These are my "issues." (Oh, she has issues.) Why, yes, I do. Several, in fact.
My weight is really up there. Some scales don't go as high as I need them to. Sitting in a restaurant booth is usually a problem. Chairs with arms--daunting. I need to lose a lot of weight this year.
I'm a stress-eater and I've had a lot of stress, mostly the unhealthy kind. I need to make better choices when I feel stressed.
I'm ill-prepared for retirement. Some people retire with millions, some with thousands. I retired with almost nothing. I need to practice frugality, and it wouldn't hurt to get a part-time job.
I'm kind of shy and a bit of a loner, but I do love my friends. It's just hard to open up to new people and now that I've moved out of state...and my friends have stayed in my former state, well, that's a bit of a problem. I need to put myself out there and make some new friends, as well as maintain those relationships with those people who are dear to me.
I've become rather lazy. Since the time I was ten years old, I've almost always done some kind of paid work. While I do think I've suffered from teacher burnout, the time has come to get over it and do something. It turns out being a couch potato is not a good option if one wants to be healthy and even slightly interesting. In the 1970s, I often spent my days watching every soap opera on ABC, peeling myself off the vinyl sofa only when I heard my husband's car pull in the driveway. I don't ever want to be that person again! Ever! Yet I feel dangerously close to repeating my past. I need hobbies and some physical activity during the day.
Arthritis. It keeps me from being as active as I need and want to be. I need to lose weight to ease the burden on my joints.
Finally, I have a little bit (and I want to emphasize "little bit") of an issue with trust when it comes to men. I don't know that it's something I particularly want to work on. It's last on the list for that reason. I am finally responsible for only "Me, Actually," and I kind of like that. For most of my life I have been someone's daughter, mother, or wife. I've had a label. Teacher, secretary, "Illustrations Girl," (which had nothing to do with art, by the way), babysitter, salad girl, are just a few titles I've held, none unhappily. While I now gladly and thankfully retain the titles of "Mom," and "Grandma," I'm quite content to be just me to everyone else.
Cindy,
1-1-13
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