What would Judi do?

The year I turned 50, my brother had a great idea: do 50 fun things in that year.  It was a great idea.  But my mom was sick and I needed to take care of things here so the great idea didn't happen. Then she died and my desire for fun hit a road block.  And then covid stopped the world.  It's really amazing to me how time just passes but it feels like it stood still. But that's a topic for a different post. Flash forward 5 years. Five years that just seem to have vanished.  During those 5 years, I changed careers (sort of - I got a regular job so I'm no longer a contractor).  My girls started and have nearly finished college.  I moved, got married - so many things have happened.  Five years seems like 5 seconds and yet so much has happened. So here I am: 55 years old about to turn 56 in a matter of weeks.  I wasn't going to let 55 pass by like seconds again. I was going to have fun, damnit. And I did.  And I kept a list.  There were...

There are lots of people I've met over my 55 years that have had an impact on me.  I suspect most don't know that.  I think I'll start writing about the various people who have impacted me, sometimes positively and sometimes less so.  I should probably tell them to their face.  That takes courage that I might not have.  Goal #98549 for this year. I should probably start with someone who just left this world.  She was one of the folks who hired me at this super large interpreting agency way back when in 1993.  I started my mentorship there and thought I'd go home.  I was hired for a 3 month stint that turned into 6 months and I never left.  Well, I left that agency but never left the area.  And I never left my connections with SLA.  They are in many ways my family. They are my friends.  They're the people who have been through one marriage, a divorce and my second marraige with me, even if just from sidelines in the facebook wor...

 I woke up in a fog today.  I heard someone at the door around 10:30 and knew someone was delivering something because my kid texted me a warning the night before.  I had actually woken at the crack of dawn but refused to get up.  I checked my phone, looked at messages and went right back to sleep - something I don't often do.  But when that happens, I am in intense dreamland and groggy upon waking, which is where I was today.  I didn't even notice Andrew wasn't next to me.  I was being careful not to wake him.  I stumbled out to the living room and heard someone in the kitchen.  The only thing I could think of was "how did Mikaela get this person a key and why is he in my kitchen?"  I was definitely surprised and relieved to find it was Andrew.  I hate that kind of morning. Then I got to thinking about the day.  I'm 55 today.  I have lived more than half my life.  It's kind of a sad thought.  I thought about the...

Generally speaking, I refuse to play all the games and challenges I see on facebook.  I don't really think anyone cares enough about me to try to steal my identity and if they do, they'll get what they deserve.  That said, I don't want to make it easy for anyone so I steer clear of most of that stuff. I've been watching folks post about the 10 year challenge.  I don't really need to post pics because I post a lot of them and y'all know I've aged.  We don't need to talk about that. I think about other things when I think of the difference between now and 10 years ago.  Mostly I am grateful for where I am in life right now.  The biggest difference is how much calmer I am.  I'm sure my brother would laugh at that - as would a lot of people who know me.  While my life is full of drama (hello!  I have two dramatic daughters!), I am calmer than I was.  I am no longer fearful of what's going to happen next.  Am I going to upset my spouse?...

 I'm pretty sure I have started the last few years of writing this blog with some variation of "I should/will write/publish more."  The truth is, I write with some frequency.  I just don't publish a lot of what I write because it's either depressing, sad, repetitive or boring. So maybe this year I'll endeavor to publish more and not be grumpy and boring.  You'll have to tell me if I succeed in that goal. I try not to make new year's resolutions because I don't believe I have ever seen one to fruition.  I bail after a few weeks.  Yeah, I don't make it to a few months.  Maybe this year will be different?  Yeah, I know it probably won't. I posted on facebook (with the idea that writing it and making it public would force  me to do something) a few goals.  Here's what I came up with: 1. Lessen the load . It's time to get rid of things I've been holding on to. My mother doesn't need her things anymore and there's no reason to...