There are so many titles I could attach to this post and in the end it would all boil down to talking about quiet creativity. For the past several years, I have been journal writing – praying on paper – about holistic health, about finding balance, and about being aware of both closing and opening doors and of my path to follow.
Lately, a lot of doors have closed - doors around expressing my creativity in louder, more public, even professional ways. I think at first that was hard for me to see, or accept, because of the role creativity has played in my adult and career life. Perhaps that’s the reason that I’ve been having so many technical issues lately. God wanted me know, for sure, that this door is closing.
In 2020, it is my 40th high school reunion and since I’ve gone to all the others, I assume I’ll be going to this one too. In 2021, it is my 40th wedding anniversary and – LOL – I’ve attended all of those as well and imagine we’ll be doing something special together. In 2022, it is my 60th birthday. I believe in celebrating each and every year and the milestone ones even more. Right now, my plan is to spend several months on the east coast of Canada. These are highly motivating events.
Several years ago, when I was doing one-on-one coaching with Diane, one assignment was to make a collage of the woman I was becoming. It started with the words so this is what sixty looks like and was created to encompass the years between ages fifty and seventy. The collage is on the wall beside my sewing machine and I’ve been looking at it a lot and thinking about am I actually becoming that woman, where do I need to adjust, and where do I need to continue moving forward.
While I can’t remember the year, I can remember where I was living when I started my first blog. After some major shifts in life, I closed that one and moved to a new blog and then I deleted all the posts after 800 and then again after another 800 posts which means that I’ve been blogging for more than seventeen years and 1,600 posts. And, it’s time to take a break…
… maybe even a permanent one. I can’t answer that question right now because I don’t actually know. I like to write and the thought of posting the odd essay has crossed my mind and I intend to still post about my studio and some finished projects but that’s not a promise I can make because I honestly don’t know how time will unfold. What I do know is that I want to focus on physical fitness in a more concentrated way and on changing food and financial habits and I want to experiment with broadening my interests and see where that leads me.
Part of getting physically fit will be to lose fifty pounds over the eighty-three weeks between now and the 1st of June 2020. I picked that date so I'd have two months to put together a wardrobe and a reunion outfit that I love. The 40th anniversary in 2021 and my 60th birthday in 2022 give me reasons to maintain the weight loss and I doubt I'll ever have three in row like that again. It's something to take advantage of to get where I want to get.
Although I'm going quiet, I'm certainly not quitting. My studio is set up for copper jewelry and knitting and sewing. Right now, I’m working on a coat and thinking about clothes that I can shrink in like longer, sleeveless, tunics over a t-shirt with tights. This week, I took apart a slipcover for an Ikea Ektorp chair to make a pattern so I can change my décor without changing my furniture. AND…
… I’m sewing some t-shirts for my daughter. Sewing for her is something I haven’t done since she was a little girl and right now, I both have time to sew and she needs a wardrobe boost and would appreciate help. It'll be fun and she’ll end up with a collection of patterns that fit for when and if she ever decides to sew.
Every platform has different extensions which can be rather frustrating although it makes sense in order to distinguish them one from another. Right now, my website is on Wix at www.myrnagiesbrecht.com. If I do post some essays, it’ll be at the blog associated that platform with the extension www.myrnagiesbrecht.com/blog, I am going to post this there as well and - hopefully - ways to follow although I did try to get the Bloglovin link and it wouldn't work. Go figure. I'll do my best.
Update - apparently Wix doesn't have a feed on its blog option - and I only barely know what that might mean but - so it can't be connected through Bloglovin. That means if I do post essays and updates at some point, they will be at either blog.myrnagiesbrecht.com or at myrnagiesbrecht.blogspot.com both of which you can sign up for in Bloglovin. My preference is the first one and I am trying to work out those technical issues. You can always find me at my website - myrnagiesbrecht.com.
THANK YOU so much for following my blog(s) over the years, for the creative conversation, and for your support and encouragement. I am grateful.
- Myrna
I will definitely miss your blog, but understand the reasoning behind it. Bon chance to you! Milestones are awesome to celebrate and you are admirable for embracing them. FWIW I have lost 15# in the last year, am 62 years old and discovered the only way I could do this was with intermittent fasting. It has become a way of life for me and I am thrilled with it. I go sixteen hours without food and then have a window of 5-9pm to eat (nutritiously of course)....just a thought for you. I've eliminated the bulge of my gut which was threatening to be the first part of my body to enter a room! 8-)
ReplyDeleteIaBovine
Thanks for understanding and for your encouragement. I appreciate it.
DeleteWill miss your blog. Have followed you for years. You have to do what is best for you. I just returned to Macdonald College,McGill for my 55th Reunion. This psst weekend I was at a quilting retreat and one of the attendees was my student sometime between 1964-1974. I taught Home Ec. at the time.She was nice...she said that I hadn't changed.
ReplyDeleteTake care,Myrna and you will be missed.
Thank you very much. I really appreciate your kind comments. I'm already missing writing and topic ideas are constantly flitting through my mind however, I think a break is really important for me on many levels. Thank you for missing me and maybe one day. We'll see.
DeleteI will also miss your writing, but I understand your desire to take a break. In my years of reading your blog I have always appreciated your ability to set goals for yourself and focus on how to achieve them. This is also my most pressing need so it is something I have been trying to learn. (My mind is very scattered so it is an uphill battle.). Anyway, it is good to change course when we discover that what we are doing no longer works for us.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy your writing so I will check in from time to time to see if your urge to write has manifested itself. In the meantime, thank you, and all the best to you as you let this thing go for a while to focus on other things,
Thanks for understanding. Recently I've been thinking about goals and how most people back away from them thinking they are something big and overwhelming and yet we set small goals all day long like pick up groceries, go to the bank, clean the bathroom. I'm trying to take a big goal and make it smaller and more approachable like - LOL - 2/3 of a pound a week. I try to make it increasingly doable. I'm glad you're going to check back. I love writing and sharing and I can't see not doing that again at some point.
DeleteOne more thing, I just want to tell you that something has changed in the comment feature of your blogging program. I wanted to express my appreciation of your writing, so I persisted in trying to get the comment published, but it took several tries. (If my other attempts show up, please just delete them.��) I have a feeling that this might explain why I see few comments here, even though I imagine others feel the same as I do.
ReplyDeleteLOL - ah, yes, not surprising. I've had so many technical issues lately. I have no idea what the problem is or how to fix it other than it must be a Blogger issue as I haven't changed any settings. Hopefully it resolves itself.
DeleteBest wishes on your journey. I will miss the blog. I am 61 and also on a mission to lose weight and improve my health. I found the book "Obesity Code" by Dr Jason Fung invaluable and have lost 25lbs by intermittent fasting and cutting out sugar. Not just another diet book, but the science behind what is happening in our bodies.
ReplyDeleteBarb from Prince George
Thank you for your well wishes and encouragement. I'll check into that book. So far, I've been eating less and moving more and have lost 6.2 pounds so a good start. My goal is the fifty but only if I can lose it through a realistic method that works with my personality/lifestyle otherwise I won't be able to maintain it. I want a permanent change even if it ends up being less weight lost.
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