A Medley of Thoughts

Welcome to the Wednesday Hodgepodge, and also today's A-Z Challenge post for the letter M. You'll find that by scrolling down to #8. If you've answered today's questions add your link at the end of my post, and then go say hi to your neighbor.

Please do not link here if you have not answered the questions. I understand the desire, but this space is reserved on Wednesdays for the Hodgepodge only.  Thanks for understanding! 

1. Speaking of April 15...what's the most 'taxing' thing you've done recently?

Hmmm...most things I find taxing around here have to do with actual taxes, so there's that. Also, we're selling a house and the whole process is a little bit taxing. Maybe even more than a little. 

2. When did you last take a taxi somewhere and where was that somewhere?

I'm trying to remember. Every now and then we grab a cab to get from point A to point B in the city, but I don't think we've needed to do that in a while. We try to walk everywhere. We did take a taxi in Portugal last summer, and that might be the last time I was in a cab. 

3. What's something you can do today that you couldn't do a year ago?

Call myself a mother-in-law! 

photo credit: Chris Isham 

4. How often is chicken (in some form or fashion) on your menu at home? Which of the following would you most like to see on your table tonight....a chicken salad sandwich, your mom's fried chicken, a Chick-fil-A meal, Cracker Barrel's chicken n' dumplings, a roast chicken dinner with all the trimmings, or 'hold the chicken, I'm a vegetarian'...?

We had chicken last night. I typically have a salad topped with grilled, roasted, or barbecued chicken at least one night a week, and then also have it fixed some other way at least once or twice more. I like chicken and you can change it up with so many different flavors and preparation styles.  

Of the chickens listed I'd choose Chick-fil-A. We don't have Chick-fil-A in our neck of the woods, so it's a pretty rare treat. 

5. What was your favorite television program when you were a kid? What characters do you remember the most?

Define kid. I'm not sure I can choose just one, but some of my favorites growing up were The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Here Come the Brides, The Partridge Family, My Three Sons, The Brady Bunch, and The Mod Squad.

I loved Mary Tyler Moore. I wanted a cool apartment and my own theme song.  

6. What was the last piece of 'art' you made?

Lots of diy-ing happened here in December. Daughter1 and I spent more than a few hours working together on some of the detail that made her wedding day feel personal. I haven't done a whole lot of 'crafting' since then, since we've been busy preparing for a move. 

7. What frustrates you most about the Internet?

Probably pop up advertising and videos that refuse to load. 

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Once again using this random space today for my A-Z Challenge post....

M is for The Change

Can't really have change as my theme without talking about The change. 

Yes with a capital The. Like death and taxes, it's unavoidable. At least I think it's unavoidable. If there's a way to avoid it nobody told me. 

I'd excuse the men here, but you have to live with us, so you might want to read to the end-ha! 

In my experience, this is not a change you can really prepare for. It's a bit like being hit by a mack truck and surviving to tell the tale. You regroup, take inventory of what still works, and make allowances for what doesn't. You carry on, a little wobbly at first, but recover your footing eventually. 

You don't expect your footing to be perfect either. 

Good enough is suddenly pretty good. 

I remember feeling just a little bit crazy. Hubs will attest to this-ha! I told my Dr. I wasn't myself...that something was wrong, but I could not articulate precisely what that something was. And my doctor bless him, didn't call me crazy. 

But y'all I was a little crazy. 

Maybe not crazy, but definitely not rational. I felt like I was in a perpetual fog. Like my blood was no longer racing through my veins, but instead was crawling through at a snail's pace. My memory has always been sharp as a tack, and suddenly I couldn't remember my own name. 

I gained weight literally overnight and my eyesight went from 20/20 to can't-see-the-fine-print-or-the-big-print either. I won't bore you with the rest like all the less than positive changes to my hair, skin, and more but trust me it's akin to Invasion of the Body Snatchers. 

It all feels quite rude, which I think is the hardest part about the whole thing. You're going along feeling confident, energetic and really good about hitting some sort of stride in your 40's. You know yourself or at least feel like you do, and BAM! in a literal  flash you seem to be falling apart. You wonder who is this person? 

It takes some time to figure it all out and you need to be kind to yourself while you do, because you will figure it out. You won't stay stuck in the fog forever, although there are still  foggy days now and then. You will still occasionally want to open the freezer and climb in for a minute to cool off, but the intensity of it all subsides. I know some women take hormones, but I wasn't a candidate for those so needed to find other ways of  regaining my equilibrium. 

Diet and exercise. 

Yup. Two things I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to in my 20's and 30's suddenly took center stage. I reached my late 40's never needing to think about my weight. And exercise? Blech. Swimming and hiking were wonderful in a natural setting, but I wasn't a gym rat. I liked being outdoors, and if exercise naturally fit with that, then okay. Otherwise, blech!

Hello new habits. 

It's taken me a while to find what works for me, and I imagine everyone's different. No gimmicks or tricks, just a healthy diet with less sugar, little or no processed foods, and a regular early morning appointment with my boot camp peeps. 

It really is true what 'they' say...you're never too old to learn something new. 
Change sometimes forces you to recognize that.