D-Day – June 6, 2008 – I officially left that pesky day job and upgraded to Life 2.0. A year later it’s hard to remember rising at the butt crack of dawn, dressing in professional clothing, commuting to work, endless meetings and a huge amount of stress (often self-induced but that’s due to my former Type A+ personality).
I exited CoxHealth full of a mental “to do” list but for some reason, was smart enough NOT to put it on paper because had I done so, I would have felt compelled to tackle every single item in the last 12 months if only to be able to mark it off that list.
In hindsight, I made the perfect choices to distance myself from work – for the first 4 weeks of my new life we were either traveling or had company so I had no opportunity to miss work – only my awesome co-workers. We left immediately after D-Day for a long motorcycle trip and as the miles rolled by, the stress rolled off. I was no longer tethered to my Blackberry although I’ll admit it was replaced with an iPhone and a daily deluge of emails concerning my volunteer position as president of The Rotary Club of Springfield Southeast.
Looking back, my life has changed in so many wonderful ways:
- Lost 15 pounds and now get the full benefit of my membership at The Meyer Center
- Started playing racquetball again
- Had an incredible year with Rotary – met all my goals and in 26 days, can pass the gavel to the president-elect
- Traveled – to the west coast on both the motorcycle and again via 4-wheels, Tlaquepaque, Mexico with Rotary, numerous trips to Des Moines and Phoenix, Shrine trips to St. Louis, overnight motorcycle trips – and now we’re planning a trip of 4-5 weeks that will take us and the GoldWing to Alaska in July
- Spent more time with family – helped Tammy and Ralph move into new homes, babysat, had 2+ weeks with our west coast kids at Christmas and New Years without worrying about when I had to be back at work
- Read tons of books – haven’t kept track of them all but I know I’ve read at least 75 in the last year – and now I’m stocking up on books to take with me on the July trip
- Watched TV – yes, you heard correctly – in addition to “Desperate Housewives” I occasionally watch DIY – not a lot but I use TV time to knit
- Knitted – even made a couple of sweaters for myself plus several gifts
- Re-did two rooms in our house – hey, it’s a start and Burl is making threats to install hardwood floors in the living room, dining room and hallway in the fall
- Sewed – certainly not something that was on my radar but has been so much fun – made Christmas and Easter dresses for the three little girls as well as some American Girl doll clothes and am currently working on a sundress for Julia for her birthday and more doll clothes she has requested. Sure helps to have a spiffy new sewing room and machine!
- Enjoyed lunching with my chick friends – a real treat that was so hard to work into my day when I was chained to a desk
- Expanded my volunteer activities – and I have more ideas in the works although I have “promised” Burl I won’t take on anything new for a while – we’ll see -:)
- Not been bored – not for a single minute did I not find something joyful about life or something I wanted to do, even if it was just sitting in the porch swing enjoying the scenery in my own back yard
- And most importantly, loved every day of my new life without looking back and have thanked God daily for my good health, the wonderful man I married, my family and my numerous friends and blessings.
Life isn’t good – it’s glorious!
Hi Anne, I love that — Life 2.0
good for you!