New Year's Resolutions at age 64?

 In our sixties we pretty much have seen it all. Done most of it and decided not to do other things. 

Example? I never wanted to jump from a plane. Never wanted to go scuba diving or skiing.  (Note on scuba diving: I was mentally scarred by the movie Jaws as a teenager. I've never looked at the beach the same since.)

Things I'd still like to do?  Hmmm... nothing is coming to me on this but gonna give it some time to percolate. 

Places I'd like to see? Paris & Ireland.  I'm 100% Irish so I'd like to see the country of my people.  Paris? I've just always been drawn to that city and I don't know why. 

So, how about some resolutions for the new year? 

1. Publish another book

2. Make our business successful. (Covid has all but crushed it, but we love it so we fight onward. - Please, if you know a small business, especially the entertainment biz support them, send your friends in, book a party. They need you even if they look okay. Trust me, every small business has been hurt by covid.) 

3. Adopt out these 3 pups who I'm fostering. Especially Carl who is special needs and extremely playful. (Carl's story is here.)  The other two are a pair of bonded Chihuahuas. They need a home together. 

4. Get organized both in time & space. By time I mean scheduling which days/hours I do what. By space I mean clean up my desks (I have 3) files & other paperwork and make things easier to manage. 

5. Find a passive income. I think everyone needs something else. If you go to Pinterest and search passive income you can come up with a bunch of ideas. I need to take the time to research them all and find something for a side job. 

Any other ideas? What are your New Years Resolutions? 

Making the Most of 60+

 Tomorrow I'm 64. WoooHooo! 

Actually, I feel 30. Except for the stiff back from sleeping on the couch for two days because my new foster dog has anxiety issues.  He's adorable, but is still getting used to us. 

I always look at each decade as an adventure. Something to meet with joy & awe.  This decade had me opening my own business and facing the challenges of running it during Covid. 

So for this new year of my 60 decade, what challenges shall we find? Adventures shall we plan? Or goals shall we set?  Okay, let's give it a go. What would be good things to do/see/experience for 64? 

•  Build my business 
• Publish another Book on Amazon (It's written but now comes the edit)
• Post some short stories on The Midnight Brain
• Rescue more dogs 
• Buy a home
• Get organized
• Lose 10... okay, 15 pounds
• Make friends
• Plant a garden
• Paint a mural 

So what's your plans for this year of your life? 

Stay at Home & Depression

Most people get depressed at one time or another in their lives. I used to get it all the time due to a medical issue (hypothyroid & Pernicious anemia) but mostly I'm okay now.
Mostly.
Our house is smallish, but we were looking for another place. Then this virus put the brakes on everything. My business, my house hunting, my life. One thing it did start up again was that old familiar depression. It's not bad, just frustrating. Being stuck in the house feels like the place is shrinking. I imagine the walls closing in. For someone who battles depression on a long term and daily basis I could imagine this period in time could seem unbearable.

Know anyone who battles depression? It's time to check in on them.

And breathe....

We all need to just relax and breathe. Someday we'll be on the other side of this and that's where we need to focus.

The surest way to get out of a hole is to have a dream. That thing you want to do, places you want to go, and thing you've dreamed of creating. No matter how big or small your dream, there there steps you can do now to move you toward that goal.

Today I will trim the tree in the back yard that blocks the light.
Today I will paint a picture.
Today I will sew some masks.
Today I will write a newsletter for my biz.
Today I will....

What will you do today? Make a list no matter how big or small the tasks. Make that list and get stuff done.

And call that friend...

Life After 60?

Yes, life after sixty. Just think of the quote; You're never too old to set a new goal or dream a new dream.

I had a dream at age 5. When people would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up I'd always reply; An artist. I knew it then, in my heart, that I was an artist.

Giraffe rock painted for a friend

My mother disagreed.

Let's remember my mother grew up during the depression. She saw the worse of it and although her father always had a job times were lean and the man she married wasn't so lucky. My father came from a family of 12 children. Only 6 survived to adulthood. He quit school in the 6th grade to work to help support the family yet he was one of the smartest people I've ever known. I think it bothered him that he lacked even a grammar school education, but I know that had he been given opportunities, he would have gone far. He was kind and fair. His family was tough as nails, they had to be to survive with 12 kids and little money during those times.

Anyway, my mother said, "Artist don't make any money, pick something else."
Always the good little girl I believed my mother and wandered most of my life looking for that something else. I've worked retail, as a dental assistant, bartender, office manager, more retail, waitress, election clerk, sales manager, marketing director, human resource director, etc. I just floated from job to job as the opportunity arose and never really felt fully satisfied. Some were more interesting than others, some challenging (I loved the challenging jobs) and some were frustratingly boring. None touched my passion. Marketing came close, but the place where I worked was micro managed so it had limitations.

I wrote some books. Got a few more almost done. Yes, writing is in my heart, too, but I guess it's just another kind of art. A few books up on Amazon and really should get the others up soon. Working on that!
I wrote for the confession mags before they went under. Loved those stories.

Now at age 61? My kids moved 900 miles away. Let's face it, New Jersey is a hard state to start out in. They got out and I'm glad they did. Both bought their own homes and built a life. I missed them terribly. It was decision time.

My husband and I started investigating our options. If we moved down to be closer to them what could we do? How about our own business?

So here we are in Florida. No, not to retire. We are starting our own business and yes, it involves art. (More on this later.)  Right now we're in a kind of limbo doing the prep work for our new biz while living with my youngest daughter. I miss having my own home. Hey! This is the first time in over 30 years I didn't have my own house to take care of. But things here are going good. We're crazy busy getting this off the ground and since we're starting from the bottom up it's going to take months to get from leases & lawyers through the build-out process to the Grand Opening.

For a while I felt a little panicked. What have we done? Sold our home, left everything we ever knew and now we're ... homeless?  Then I go back and think;

You're never to old to set a new goal or dream a new dream. 

Family Tree painted for a friend.