The last six months have been filled with so much change that something had to give which is why I have not written a blog since the Fall of 2023. We put our house up for sale mid September and when it sold six weeks later, we had about eight weeks to find a new home and pack up twenty years of memories. And just to add to the fun, the Quebec medical system decided to schedule the surgery I had been needing for over a year, two weeks before our move. I was so relieved and grateful but overwhelmed as well! Needless to say, I was far too busy to be creative. The dust has settled, and I have a fresh perspective on change.
Thank goodness the sun rises each morning and allows us to see through the previous day's darkness with a new perspective. Packing up chapters in our lives is tough and some of us never really get to this and have closets full of unfinished business. Saying goodbye to being an 'on the job, on call Mom' is hard but what I found even harder was walking around the huge house that we had built to raise our family in, and going from empty room to empty room, constantly reminded of days gone by. Some friends now have grandchildren to fill those empty rooms and in a way, they have never had to close their Mom chapter because it simply evolved to the natural next stage of being a grandma. I am so happy for these friends, but I had to accept the reality that this stage is many years away, if it comes at all, and that now was the time for me to switch gears.
One of my wise senior citizen friends once said to me, "just keep the doors closed." I laughed but she was trying to give me practical help so that I could deal with my feelings of loss. She wasn't laughing which made me realize the difference between myself and some other folks. I need closure in the same way that I need to finish projects. I am not happy when I have several unfinished books on the go, or stories lying around that are half told. Satisfaction comes from completion in my world. So together we spent all of 2023 polishing up the home we had built and then the last weeks of the year were spent packing and moving and celebrating our accomplishments!
Moving out of the home where we raised our children as two parents, means that we can start a new chapter as girlfriend and boyfriend once again. This is what we call each other now when we arrive back at our tiny home, in our new town. Honestly, it feels like when we first got married 35 years ago and had our first two-bedroom apartment, except now the bills are paid. We have solid jobs and the freedom to enjoy it all. Life is good.
I also announced the closing of my pandemic business. What a great ride I had delivering quality fitness classes through Zoom to so many of my faithful followers and so many new people who I accepted into my fold from all across Canada. While most entrepreneurs went back to normal after about two years, I kept my online fitness business going for four years. I cannot believe I lasted that long, working solely from home, through zoom. My decision to end operations was brought on by the fact that the purpose it served had faded. Yes, it was still incredibly convenient but like the home that I built for my kids, the need to keep it going was gone. Seniors were now safe to exercise in person. I felt strongly that it was time to move onto the next chapter.
So here I am, a work in progress, trying to reinvent myself once again or find myself. Either way I giggle thinking that I will just get it all under control one day and then the grandbabies will arrive, and I will want a bigger house and more things ha, ha. Until then I am going to continue living in the moment, get those books written and continue my search for the ideal fitness class that I can attend as a student or start an entirely new fitness venture! The world is my oyster and yours too! Be true to yourself and the rest will follow.
Beth