Laugh, Love, LIVE

Laugh, Love, LIVE

As I embark upon my last few weeks of my 30's, I find myself reflecting on the first 40 years of my life and pondering on how I would like to live the next 40. When my father was 28, he had more years behind him, than he had ahead of him. No day is promised. So for however many days I have left-  I am officially adopting the mantra to Laugh loud, love hard and live life. Those who know me may say this has always been my mantra, well, I'm making it official! I plan to spend this entire year and years to come enjoying life and creating memories.

I want to surround myself with the things and people who offer those three precious things to me. In return, I too will offer my best to them. Now, for those who threaten to take those things away from me... well, you can guess where they will be placed.

My best friend of 30+ years is also turning 40 this year. She thought it would be cool for us both to come up with 20 things we'd like to accomplish this year. I realize that so much of my life stopped after I had my son 5 years ago. I'm feeling a rebirth coming! I want my list to include not only the things I want to change, but also the things  I've lost along the way. Twenty seems like A LOT. I'm going to start typing and see where I land.

1. Find a church home.  This tops my last because when my spiritual house is in order, my physical house gets in order. I have not had a church home since I returned to Atlanta at the end of 2011. I hadn't realized it had been that long until I typed it just now. Yes, I have been heathen. Now I've been to church since 2011, but I've not been in regular attendance at any single church. When I first came to Atlanta, I visited churches for 3 years until I found the right place of worship for me. With that track record I need to get on the ball fast.

2. Give back. Through work, church or on my own, I have always served. With my son turning 5, now is the perfect time for him to see first hand what it's like to offer a hand.

3. Financial Freedom. This is actually a goal I started last year. I hate debt. It is sometimes a necessary evil, but I still hate it. Last year I implemented zero based budgeting (Dave Ramsey) and paid off my car and all credit cards. This year I am tackling my student loan. Although I have a home loan that is not going away any time soon, I don't plan to have any more loans and my next car will be paid in cash.

4. Run a 5k. I'm in physical therapy for my knee so I'm hoping to be cleared for take off!

5. Play tennis. This may be a lofty goal and totally based on my knee therapy, but it is something I enjoyed doing. When I purchased my house, I had to have a  community with tennis courts because I've always planned to get out there again, I need to enjoy my hard earned HOA fees!

6. Limit Social Media. My bestie says I have a love/hate relationship with social media. It is true. I see how it reconnects people and builds bridges for others who may have otherwise never met. But I also see how it stifles interactions among people who are in the same room. I can easily burn an hour reading updates from people who I don't care about and who don't care about me. There is nothing worse than seeing a group of people out together and everyone is on their mobile device (I hope my bestie is reading this because she is a big offender). That time could be better spent doing all the other things I haven't been doing for the last 5 years.

7. Enjoy a hobby. Once upon a time, I had hobbies. Everyone needs to take time to unwind. Other than travelling, I can't name a single hobby that I have. That my friends, cannot continue.

8. Lose 40 pounds. I actually would like to lose more, but lets stick with the 40's theme. I've already been working on this goal. I'm in a bootcamp 3 days a week, I finally assembled my elliptical and I just enrolled in a food delivery service. Lets just say- I'm pretty much out of excuses.

9. Take 5. Weekdays I find myself rushing home from work to pick up my son, rushing him into the car, rushing through homework, rushing through dinner, rushing through bath, rushing through story time, rushing to bed... rinse and repeat. Hardly ever do I slow down to enjoy the journey. I will make a conscious decision to do things out of the ordinary.

10. Keep in touch. Even with the conveniences of social media, I am horrible with staying in touch with people. This is reflected in my personal and working relationships. I have met and lost touch with some amazing people. I have to do better.

Well, that completes my first 10. Check back for the other 10!