December 31--Goodbye, 2023!

Here is the world, and you live in it, and are grateful. You try to be grateful. 
--Michael Cunningham

    Heading into the new year, I like to review the previous year. You may wonder if I simply remember all this stuff. Actually, it comes from a review of my Win List. That's a daily note of all the good/blessings/joys in my life. Writing my Win List is part of my daily spiritual practice. Here are the 2023 items of note...

WORK

• Taught MELT and yoga through the end of October; took a two-month break to determine my teaching future.
• Repeated the MELT L2 training.
• Tax season (I agree to help out the new owner) was a dreadful end to a good tax-prep “career.”
• Hired to be a simulated patient at the Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine. My first gigs are in 2024.

FAMILY

• Attended great-nephew Bryan’s wedding in Ohio.
• Spent several weeks with my brother Arlie.
• Have had the great joy of watching grandson Luca grow.
• Eliot visited us in Wichita when he was in KS for a memorial service.
• Played several rounds of golf with my sons, my most cherished activity.
• My son’s Golden Retriever Dusty crossed the “Rainbow Bridge” in October at 13. He truly was a “family” dog.
• In November we celebrated my in-laws' 70th anniversary.
• We had a lovely Christmas with my husband’s side of the family.

TRAVEL

• To Thunder NBA game in January
• Lanie & I drove to Florida, met up with Paige and Laura, had a great time hanging at the “Hill Resort” and Laura's home in Florida.
• Lanie, Paige and I went to Savannah, where we explored and Paige treated us to an extravagant meal at Elizabeth on 37th.
• After Bryan’s wedding, Debi, Val and I went to Ocean City, MD for a week on the beach and evenings of Rummikub.
• Completed my all 30 MLB stadiums quest in May with a Cubs loss in Houston and #30 at Globe Life Field in Arlington.
• Went with six other golf gals to Show Low, AZ for two weeks of golf and fun in July. Too HOT for me!
• Made several trips to Fort Collins, including Luca’s 1st birthday in August.
• Went to England and Wales for two weeks; highlight was Stonehenge, celebrated my birthday #68 there.
• Spent two weeks in Ohio in November, with lots of time with my brother and niece.
• Made my 3rd annual Jamaica trip in December. Lanie and I together conquered the 25-martini menu.

HEALTH

• Swam over 100 miles for the 26th year in a row.
• Learned to play pickleball and played several times a week, even played in Jamaica.
• Enjoyed another year of gardening. Because of dead tree removal, I can once again grow tomatoes and peppers. BLTs were a highlight. Also planted 50 lily bulbs in the renewed front bed.
• Had my first FLOAT experience in Houston–HEAVENLY!
• Completed several weeks of PT for left shoulder tendinitis; had a steroid shot; much improved.
• Had a physical (1st in 3 yrs) – all good!
• Alas, I’m ending the year with a broken tooth.

DOG

• Barney has been huge in helping me through the disappointment, anxiety and depression of 2023. When all else fails, pet the dog. Daily walks get us outside and moving every day.

MISCELLANEOUS

• Watched the entire Ted Lasso series twice–I highly recommend it!
• We succeeded in the much-needed cleaning and clearing of the laundry/storage room.
• I managed to get several more extended family members hooked on Rummikub.

CREATIVITY

• I taught myself the granny square pattern and made a wedding gift afghan for Bryan & Erin.
• Completed one straight-line painting and started another.

    I guess I’d give the year a 6 out of 10. A lot of good stuff happened. But in so many ways, my heart just wasn’t in it. I’m working on a better attitude for 2024.

        Leta

December 30--GEEZ!

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others. 
--Marcus Tullius Cicero

    For quite some time, the teeth on the upper right side of my mouth have been hot and cold sensitive. It's not intolerable, and the dentist had noted that there is a cracked tooth there, which is on the "watch list." As Murphy's Law would have it, the tooth broke at supper last night--Friday night of a three-day holiday weekend, "icing on the cake" for a year that I am glad to see pass. Fortunately it is not too painful, just sharp and annoying. We don't have dental insurance, so I'm envisioning at least a grand to fix it. 

    Gratitude... I'm trying here. Hopefully I will be able to get into my dentist early next week for the repair. We have the money somewhere. Fixing this may bring an end to the hot/cold sensitivity in that area. Eating less (because chewing irritates my tongue in that spot) will be good for me. I DO like my dentist--he is the only dentist in my lifetime about whom I have said that!

    Life goes on,

        Leta

A crown in my future...

December 29--I'll Git 'Er Done!

Gratitude is looking on the brighter side of life, even if it means hurting your eyes. 
--Ellen Degeneres

    I am finally tackling a long overdue round of house-cleaning, pretty much my least favorite thing to do in life. I joke that I travel so much so that I can avoid this nemesis chore. 

    Yes, I am grateful that I can do it (even if I'm sore afterwards). Yes, I am OK with the fact that I clean only about 1/3 of the house at a time because that's all I can make myself do in one day. Yes, we have a long-haired dog who makes my efforts instantly meaningless. Yes, it is guilt that drives my efforts... "I should be more inspired when it comes to cleaning." Yes, I do enjoy the feeling of "It's clean!" even if it is only momentary. 

    This is all a form of PTSD from being forced to clean the house as a kid!

    Don't I whine well!??!!

        Leta

Barney, my favorite dust-bunny generator

December 28--Nearing the End and the Beginning

Gratitude begins in our hearts and then dovetails into behavior. It almost always makes you willing to be of service, which is where the joy resides.  --Anne Lamott

    It's getting to be that time of year. On the December 31 post, I'll do my personal review of 2023. On New Year's Day, I am participating in a workshop designed to help me set intentions for 2024. I have been given three questions to consider by the workshop leader:

If you could have your life be any way you wanted, how would you have it be?

How would that feel?

What is your relationship with the Unknown?

    I keep reminding myself to focus on what I DO want, not on what I DON'T want. I have only minimal answers to those questions right now. 

    More shall be revealed,

        Leta

A return to Jamaica is definitely an intention for '24!

December 27--Creating and Clearing

Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good. 
--Maya Angelou

    Another straight line painting has begun (see below). There is something magical about having a painting in progress. It requires patience to allow it to develop. I make the center spot and "grow" it from there--I don't have a vision of the whole thing when I start. I can spend only so much time on it. Each spot requires three coats of paint, so I can typically do only one spot a day when I'm starting out. Stay tuned!

    Yesterday between coats of paint, I tackled the laundry room clearing project. I pitched two big trash bags of junk and completely filled the back of our RAV4 with stuff for Goodwill. I also did a lot of rearranging. I saw stuff yesterday that I hadn't seen in decades--that is a pretty good indication that those things are due to be GONE. 

    Creating and clearing--two good things for the psyche.

        Leta

December 26--Another One "In the Books"

Kindness, kindness, kindness.  --Susan Sontag

    It's over, over, over. We are back home after about 18 hours in the car in two days. It was good to see family and friends, and I am most grateful to be home. Try though I might, I can't make myself feel that this was a good Christmas. It was acceptable. I went along with all of it as OK, since I couldn't have what I really wanted, which was to be with my kids and grandson. I have to get past this, I know. Truly Jamaica was the Christmas-time highlight for me. I am so ready to move on to 2024. 

    In the spirit of trying to get myself headed down a better path, I offer this from AA's Big Book, because I need to read this again and again:

And acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing, or situation -- some fact of my life -- unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment.
Nothing, absolutely nothing, happens in God's world by mistake. Until I could accept my alcoholism, I could not stay sober; unless I accept life completely on life's terms, I cannot be happy. I need to concentrate not so much on what needs to be changed in the world as on what needs to be changed in me and in my attitudes.
For me, serenity began when I learned to distinguish between those things that I could change and those I could not. When I admitted that there were people, places, things, and situations over which I was totally powerless, those things began to lose their power over me. I learned that everyone has the right to make their own mistakes, and learn from them, without my interference, judgment, or assistance!

    Aiming to do the next right thing in front of me,

        Leta

Lilies... another good reminder for me...

December 25--Merry, Merry

Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.  --William Arthur Ward

    We enjoyed a lovely Christmas Eve party hosted by my husband's brother and his wife. It was great to see family and friends. The assembled bunch was good for loads of laughter. 

    More tomorrow,

        Leta