Today is the first day of the rest of my life...

“There is a fallow time for the spirit when the soil is barren because of sheer exhaustion.” – Howard Thurman

I am exhausted.

I'm tired of the political rhetoric from both sides. This country will either flourish or fail under the upcoming leadership - for the sake of all of us I really do hope that it flourishes, but I can't help but have my doubts.

Some of my family and friends don't like what I write or don't understand what I write because they have quite different views. Frankly, my "right of center" views and beliefs embarrass them and some have even chosen to take it personally. That's OK - right now in this country we are all entitled to our own thoughts and opinions.

So - this blog will no longer be about things political... it will be about some of the things that 50+ women go through as they begin the second journey of their life. Some of the things many women are afraid to talk about: their feelings about spending the first half of their life caretaking and nurturing and trying to be whatever everyone else wanted/needed them to be, only to arrive at this point in their life pretty much used up, worn out and no longer needed; the guilt of not being the perfect mother or wife - no matter how hard they tried; and, hopefully, about what we can do to make the second half more meaningful for us, as well as those around us, but mainly for us.

The following excerpt from "The Second Journey" by Joan Anderson kind of sums up where I am at today.... not sure where I am going, but it should be an interesting journey... the first half sure was!

"Most of us, halfway to a hundred, confront a need for great self-awareness. We reach a point when the power of youth is gone, the possibility of failure first presents itself, and the dream of earlier times now seems shallow and pointless. And then we find ourselves asking the tough questions: What am I meant to do now? What really matters? Who am I?

For many years I had ignored these questions because I had too many responsibilities—too many other lives to consider. But all of a sudden, there were no more excuses. Old truths and ideals no longer served me. I was restless, unhappy, and full of an undefined ache, standing at a crossroad with no clear idea of what path to follow. I only knew that I needed a change. So I took a leap of faith, walked away from the mainstream of life and dove headlong into the unknown."

Rox

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Happy Veteran's Day

Land of the Free... Because of the Brave!
Thank you to all the soldiers who have served
and continue to serve our great country.

Happy Halloween!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
From Mouse the Cat and Hamlet the Dog!

Renewed commitment?

OK - so I haven't kept my vow of going to the gym or writing in my blog the past few weeks! Excuses abound - but mainly I am just tired. Tired of babying the neck and shoulder, tired of the pills and ready to move on.

Went for the final weigh in at the gym today for the Largest Loser contest and although I am not the largest loser I have lost 21 pounds (mainly through cutting calories)or 8.63% of my body weight since January 12! How much more would it have been if I had been more diligent about getting to the gym? Oh well... moving on.

Will get there 3 times this week, I will, I will , I will!

Going to Vegas to work and play next weekend (Thanks Mondo!) and will try to be good with the food. Hopefully all the walking will counteract all the eating!

Hope everyone is enjoying the warm LA weather!

Happy Trails,

Rox

Where have all the months gone?

Good Grief Charlie Brown! How can it possibly be the last week of March already?

The end of December and most of January had me trying to stay out of pain from Cervical Disc Disease (fancy name for disc gone bad in my neck!). February was spent trying to keep up with the drama classes I teach, rehearsing for my new play "The Divine Murders of the YaYa Sisterhood" (that's all of us in the photo - except Marilyn) and trying to get over the after-effects of pain pills and muscle relaxers. Finally have that straightened out... as long as my neck doesn't act up!

I have spent March celebrating my birthday with wonderful family and friends which has made turning 51 not such a bad thing! The celebration began on March 1st and, with the exception of on, I have celebrated every weekend! It ends this weekend with a trip to San Diego and and a visit with all of our children!

I continue my love/hate relationship with the gym. I actually do like going to the gym but due to lack of sleep and muscle relaxers just making me plain old tired I haven't been able to get into a routine. I have managed to lose 17 pounds since mid-January by watching what I eat but I MUST get back to the gym. I am somewhat limited now due to the neck thing - not supposed to lift weights at all... we'll see.

So - I vow to get to the gym 3 days a week! Let's see if I can do it! I will also blog about it and bore you to tears!

Happy Trails and Happy Spring! Rox