HAPPY NEW YEAR

And What Happened to 2023?

Weird.

That was the first response that came to mind when I was asked, “How was your Christmas?” For the first time in thirty years, we spent Christmas with just the two of us. It felt a little contrived … kind of like spraying fake snow on your windowpanes in Florida.

Christmas in Florida is definitely strange, and most of our Christmas rituals are a little off without the kids. After spending weeks watching happy families celebrate in the snow on the Hallmark Movie Channel, it was now time to pick myself up and get moving.

So, I printed a thirty-page workbook.

The title is IT’S TIME TO MAKE 2024 YOUR BEST YEAR YET. Sounds great, doesn’t it? The guide is a free download from Mel Robbins. I’m a self-proclaimed groupie of her podcast, thanks to my friend Tara. Since I’m terrible at finding good books and podcasts on my own, I’m so glad to have found this one, and I highly recommend both the podcast and the workbook.

I immediately sent a copy to my son. He has a big year ahead of him. He recently sold his successful business and is planning a year of travel to refresh, reset, and find his next thing. However, he hasn’t replied yet …

And I get it. Thirty-page workbooks are not for everyone. Mel recommends that you do the exercises with your husband like she does. I love that idea, but have little hope of convincing my other half—at least I haven’t been successful as of this writing. I’ll send you all an update if things change. I also gave some thought to printing out copies for each of my employees …

But alas, it looks like I’m going to be starting on my own. A quick tally of my notes reveals that a lot of my energy was spent on health and wellness. In fact, I have been saying for more than ten years that I haven’t felt like myself. About the same time that both kids moved out of the house, went off to college, and started living their own lives, I started thinking, “I just don’t feel right.” Maybe it’s psychosomatic; maybe it’s hormones; or maybe it’s both. And as a fixer, I’ve been searching for a remedy.

The workbook instructs you to look back at the past year, month by month, and assess what has been working or not working. It then poses the big question: “What are you going to do about it?” It was easy to find the things that didn’t work. One of the first things I found was my Thigh Master. Remember that?! I’ve been dragging mine in and out of the closet for years. It was sitting on top of a plastic step-up box next to a partially inflated stability ball that was held in place by dumbbells and a set of ankle weights.

Next, I opened the cosmetic cabinet in my bathroom, and found scads of half-full jars, tubes, and pumps of creams, lotions, and serums. I’ve already shared my frustrations about this topic. My research and the development of my Shine Cream Oil has been an incredible learning experience. I’ve discovered more than I ever thought I wanted to know about the private-label skin care arena. After more than two years and thousands of dollars paid to “experts,” I still don’t have a scaled product for retail.

So far, my look back at health and wellness is equivalent to picking the low-hanging fruit for the completion of my workbook. There are some in-depth, thought-provoking assessments of my life that will hopefully lead me to set goals and plans for the year. I do know that I can be tenacious, and I’m anxious to “fix” the loneliness that I’m feeling as an empty nester and feel the need to find a purpose. I’ll keep you posted on my progress, in fact let’s keep each other posted!  Let me know how you’re doing and together we can stay accountable and celebrate our successes.  

I wish you a very Happy New Year!

Photo by Clemens van Lay on Unsplash