LIVING LIGHTLY OVER THE LAST FEW WEEKS
If you read my blog regularly (thank you if you do!) you'll know I chose "Live Lightly" as my Word(s) Of The Year for 2023. I've made a pledge to myself to chill out a little this year and to take things as they come, rather than trying to push too hard or too fast. I've noticed with my hip recovery that it goes really well.....until I think I can do more than I should, and I end up sore and wishing I'd stepped more slowly. And I think that's what my year will reflect, taking life at a gentler pace and stepping lightly and slowly.
So, on that note, to wrap up Christmas and January, I'll be sharing a few little highlights - there may not be all that many as my pace has been fairly moderate (to say the least).....
CHRISTMAS HIGHLIGHTS
So many families we know were impacted by covid and couldn't share their usual family time together. Ours didn't escape entirely, my mother-in-law came down with covid a few days before Christmas and had to stay home instead of joining various family gatherings. She was fine but needed to take it easy and rest. On top of that, our son and his family had been hit by a summer cold virus. Two had recovered, our youngest granddaughter spent a lot of time blowing her runny nose, and our son succumbed on Boxing Day and went home early the next day, leaving our DIL and the grandgirls down with us for a couple more days.
Fortunately we still got to enjoy a lovely immediate family time, and that was followed later by a fun extended family barbeque. My husband and I both managed to avoid catching the cold bugs and covid (although I know it will get us eventually....)
I thought (if you missed them on Facebook) I'd share a few family snaps from our Boxing Day lunch together.
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| Ross & me, our down-sizer Christmas tree, our son & DIL, and our daughter & SIL |
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| My mum, our DIL, me, & our daughter, our youngest grandgirl & our son, and our oldest grandgirl |
JANUARY HIGHLIGHTS
BLOGGING
I always go into a bit of a blogging slump as the year winds down and start questioning whether I'll continue with it......then January rolls around and my blogging mojo kicks back in as I launch into my new #WOTY (Word Of The Year) and before I know it I'm off and running again. Adding to that, January contained 5 Mondays - so there was an extra post to toss into the mix - Living Lightly seemed to be the theme that carried throughout the month.
If you missed any of my posts you can pop over and read them by clicking on the links below:
WORKING
I had two weeks off over Christmas/New Year and was tempted to stay home forever and go back into full retirement. I am very skilled at filling my days with lots of little things that fritter the time away. That being said, I know that the job is actually good for my mental health, it fires up my brain, increases my sociability (which can be sadly lacking at times), and gets me out of the house (and my husband's hair) for most of Friday.
So, on January 6th I was back on deck with lots to catch up on, new tasks that my boss seems to like challenging me with, and the knowledge that I'm there because I want to be, not because I have to be......and that makes all the difference in the world. Also being appreciated makes me happy too - I worked an extra day in early January and my boss bought me lunch and coffee - both were delicious!
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| A very poor pic of my toasted chicken, sundried tomato, cheese & spinach toasted Turkish + coffee |
THE BEST OF THE REST
Hip-wise, I'm going great guns, it's been 3½ months since my THR op and I'm now sleeping well, walking like a champion, and generally back to how I was before all the pain started. I'm so grateful for modern medicine and how smooth my recovery has been. All I have now to remind me of it all is a 7" scar that looks like someone has drawn a straight line on my flank/butt.....although I've been told I'll set off the metal detector at the airport next time I fly somewhere.
Creatively I've slowed down with my collages but I'm still doing one here and there - these are my latest couple - they're a bit weird and 'out there' but I find them fun to do:
Lastly - we've had the grandgirls visiting for a few days and I'm saving the pics for February's post as there won't be much family-wise happening that month. I'll be back each Monday as usual with a new post - if you aren't a subscriber I'd love you to pop your details into my sidebar sign-up box so you get an email reminder when a new post comes out. Cheers!
JANUARY'S LIVING LIGHTLY QUOTE
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A great catch-up and so glad your hip is now back to normal - and possibly better than that. Great pics and I love your art. Here's to more of the same in Feb.
ReplyDeleteHi Jo - I think for the hip of a 60 year old, it's pretty amazing and I'm so grateful to go from lurching/waddling old lady back to walking with a spring in my step. I don't think I'll ever try running on it, but I wasn't a runner before so it's no great sacrifice!
DeleteSo much to love here--especially your beautiful collages and the idea of starting the year soft. Like you, Winter Break made me think fondly of retirement--but I'm not old enough yet. I suspect that, like you, I'll need something to get me out of the house and doing. It's nice to fantasize about a life of leisure though.
ReplyDeleteHi Janet, I was so grateful (once I got used to the idea!) that I could retire early, but un-retiring for a short time each week is really good for my brain and for getting me out of the house. Thank you for your kind words about my collages - they may not appeal to everyone, but they make me feel a little bit creative - and that's a joy for me.
DeleteHi Leanne, yes, Mike received COVID as his Christmas gift and whilst we were initially disappointed we realised it was much nicer catching up afterwards which just Rachel and her family. It gave us the time to chat and spend quality time rather than 'sharing' with the extended family. Good news re your hip and although you wanted to retire again I think the job is just what you need at the moment. Thanks for linking up and sharing with us at What's Been On Your Calendar? and I look forward to hearing about your February and Living Lightly focus. Take care
ReplyDeleteHi Sue - I think small family gatherings at Christmas are extra special. I pulled back from my side of the family's larger Christmas get-together a few years ago and have no regrets - it just felt like too many people and too many partial conversations. I like being able to chat to everyone and to feel like I've gathered my family together for something a little bit special - rather than going thru the trappings of doing what we've always done. Ross's side of the family is closer and it's always good catching up with them. It'll be interesting to see if covid is still impacting us for Christmas this year.
DeleteAnd yes you're right about the job - it's only one day a week and it gets me out and about and makes my brain think harder - all good things for my mental health.
Leanne, I like hearing about your Living Lightly and the quote about restful and grateful really resonated with me. Probably because my year has started overwhelmed and stressful. But it's so great your fully recovered with your hip! And you're still happy with your part time job. Your newest collages have me once again wondering how I could get into doing similar - they are very inspiring.
ReplyDeleteHi - and thanks for your lovely compliment about my collaging - I feel like I've created from pulling lots of different things apart and then recombining them into something new that makes me feel a little bit "arty". I'm so sorry you're feeling stressed with the start of the year - it's something I remember well, and I'm making sure these days that I give myself the grace of taking things more slowly - and so grateful that I have the space to do that (something I could never have done in my busier younger life!)
DeleteHi Leanne, a lovely post full of family love and news. I'm so pleased your hip is recovering well and that you continue to reap the benefits of not rushing back into things at too fast a pace. The grandgirls are very sweet and must love spending time with you, it's such a lovely stage isn't it? Thanks for joining us for the linkup and I look forward to seeing how your year of living lightly unfolds.
ReplyDeleteHi Deb - I'm so grateful for our grandgirls (especially seeing our daughter and SIL aren't going to have children).....it makes them even more special to us. I also appreciate how they've been parented so well and are so easy to have around - grandchildren are such a gift! And yes, my hip's great and that's something I appreciate every day as I go walking again - I missed it so much!
DeleteHi, Leanne - That is awesome news about your hip being back to normal!
ReplyDeleteYou have a very beautiful family. I look forward to seeing those additional photos of your grandchildren in your upcoming post!
Hi Donna - I go out walking (not on the scale of your hikes!) but still a good morning and afternoon walk around the neighbourhood and just appreciate every single day how good it is to be painfree and out and about again. I really missed it and hated feeling so incapacitated.....back to my exercise class this week after a year of being away - so onwards and upwards!
DeletePleased to "meet" you, I think we have a lot in common. I'm newly retired but retired full-time. And I always have doubts about blogging in January! Looking forward to learning more about you.
ReplyDeleteHi Gail - lovely to connect and I hope to get to know you as we link up our monthly posts. It's always interesting to see what other Midlife bloggers are doing - especially as they embrace retirement.
DeleteHi Leanne -- Glad to see that you had a wonderful family time. Nice to see those pictures as well. New year has started off wonderfully well with all those nagging worries about the knee also well in the past. And a very nice quote at the end of the post. Fully agree with that.
ReplyDeleteHi Pradeep - thanks for your comment and I bet you enjoyed having Christmas with your son after all those years of him being away. And yes, let's all going into 2023 with kindness and softness and a willingness to take life as it comes.
DeleteHello Leanne, you have a lovely family and sound as though you had a great time together. That’s good news about your hip - I enjoy walking so I can understand how frustrating it must have been not being able to get out. I really like the collages; the colours work well together.
ReplyDeleteHi Elizabeth - thank you for your kind words - I'm very proud of my family and how we've weathered the years together. To reach the point where your children are adults and still enjoy spending time with you is such a joy. And I'm so happy that I can walk again - you don't realize what you take for granted until it's taken away from you!
DeleteWe were so surprised that this was the first Christmas in many, many years that no one was sick anywhere we went (though it sounds like our whole family was all sorts of sick through November!). I'm so glad to hear your hip recovery is going so well!!
ReplyDeleteHi Joanne - I was surprised by all the Summer colds and covid that were floating around in December. That time of the year is usually a healthy one because winter is long gone and everyone is enjoying the sunshine and heat and being virus free - it's a different world these days. Hopefully it will all settle back down again and we'll be back to "normal" again for next Christmas.
DeleteHello Leanne. I am so glad to hear that your hip is healing nicely and that you managed to avoid the illnesses that were going around over the holidays. I enjoyed the pictures of your family. Thanks for sharing them with us!
ReplyDeleteHi Christie - it's SO good to be healthy and whole again - I certainly appreciate it even more after losing my mobility for a year. I certainly don't take it for granted any more. I always enjoy it when others share family photos, and Christmas is the perfect time to share a few of my own. :)
DeleteHi Leanne, great to catch up on what you've been up to! Beautiful photos of your family. So glad your hip is doing so well and good you're still doing your collages even if less so. I love that final quote! Hope you're having a great week! xo
ReplyDeleteHi Min - it's like herding cats trying to get some family pics, so Christmas is always the best opportunity. I'm very grateful that my hip is going so well and I went back to my exercise class today after a year of being unable to move my hip or recovering from surgery - it was great to tick another box.
DeleteSo glad your hip is recovering well. As for the art, one of them says it's a window to the soul (your soul?) so maybe don't preface it with 'they're a bit out there' or 'weird'. They're colourful and pretty and they meant something to you (an expression of a facet of you) when you made them. You're allowed to be proud of them. I think they're great!
ReplyDeleteHi Lydia - that was a really insightful comment and I will definitely have to stop justifying or apologizing for what I enjoy creating. I feel like a bit of a fraud doing anything 'arty' and that's ridiculous because art is so personal and if I like it then that should be enough shouldn't it (and thank you for saying you liked them too) :)
DeleteI'm glad you took it the way it was intended. I came back to check my brashness wasn't offensive. But I wouldn't have said they were great if I didn't like them. Your inner mean girl means you aren't seeing them properly. It took me a very long time (because I had a loud inner mean girl) to stop thinking I'm not good enough/smart enough/ talented enough or whatever and start thinking "Well, why not me?" (big thanks to Art Spiegelman as it comes from something his dad said in Maus). Just know, now that I've noticed it, I will call you on it if I see you do it again. So you better be proud of your art if you're going to share it here ;) Honestly, I don't know if it's global but it's definitely something we Australian women were taught as girls - that being proud of yourself or happy in your appearance was somehow vain or boastful. It's not. Just pretend you're a man. Then you're just confident.
DeleteLydia - I'm glad you called me on it because I know that my "inner mean girl" has a very loud voice.....and also a quiet sneaky voice! I'm so worried about other people thinking I'm boasting or proud when I don't mean to be - I'm just trying to stretch myself a little in an area where I've had zero input and zero encouragement. It means a lot when others say kind things, but you're right that I need to be happy with what I do regardless of how others see it. Feel free to kick my butt when I'm being self-disparaging - but be gentle because my inner 'me' is still pretty fragile - despite being around for 60 years!
DeleteGreat to catch up Leanne and really great to hear that your hip is recovering so well. I find that working because you want to and not because you have to, gives a totally different attitude to work. I am also happy that I came out of semi retirement. Love your photos.
ReplyDeleteHi Jen - I'm surprised how much I've enjoyed this little job after always working because I felt I had to. To know that I'm choosing to go each week, rather than "having to go" makes such a difference. It also helps that I have a very pleasant work environment - so different to the extremely difficult one I was embroiled in previously!
DeleteHi Leanne. I'm so glad things are going well for you. I do love your collages. My favorite is "A window to the soul", and I had to pin it. xx Christina Daggett
ReplyDeleteHi Christina - I'm so appreciative of your encouragement with my collages. I sometimes wonder if I'm crazy enjoying them so much - so it's always heartening to have other people tell me they like them too xx
DeleteI'm so happy for you about the success of your hip surgery!! Also about your job - that you're there because you want to, not because you have to. It seems to be a good place to work. What a lovely boss to give you lunch and coffee. I remember my boss did that once but only because it was an extraordinary situation, two nurses had called in sick and there were no replacements, so we were only two nurses daytime at a busy medicine ward with 15 patients each.... our boss told the doctor the situation and "don't create any big work for the nurses" and then she went down to the cafeteria to buy us lunch. That was quite sweet!
ReplyDeleteGlad you had a nice Boxing Day lunch, it looks fabulous with the lovely sunshine!
Hi Susanne - the lunch was a special one-off (although they've bought me a coffee a couple of times). I just appreciated that they thought of me and the fact that it was an extra day and super busy (and I don't get a lunch break). It's always so nice when you feel that someone has noticed the effort you're putting in. And yes, Christmas is always super warm and sunny in Australia - so different to the Northern Hemisphere!
DeleteAwesome tree and I love your festive headband. Thanks for sharing pics of your beautiful family. This is such a happy post Leanne. I love the 'lightness' of it all.
ReplyDeleteHi Suzanne - for some reason or another I just love my new down-sizer Christmas tree - it's sparkly and pretty and very quick to set up and decorate - so a win/win all round. The headband was a cheapy from our local KMart - but bright and fun and I do love a Christmas headpiece!
DeleteWhat a great catch up here Leanne. How like life it was, with the ups and downs and the in between times. I am enjoying reading about your excellent recovery from much needed surgery. And yes, to family times, they make us sit back and appreciate life! Little people do that so easily too in our presence as their grandparents. It was great to see your post shared for this week’s Wednesday’s Words and Pics. I am grateful for your support. I hope to see you next week too. Thank you. Denyse.
ReplyDeleteHi Denyse - it's been a nice start to the year - I always love it when I get to spend some time with my family all together (it's a rare treat!) My recovery is going super well and I just feel like I'm in a good place all round atm - which is why I want to take things gently and not rush through this pleasant phase. :)
DeleteHi Leanne, I'm so glad to hear your hip recovery is going well. Good health is good wealth and life is better when we're healthy. January and February are winter months where I live and things are normally quiet after Christmas and New Year's. I appreciate the tranquility to ease into the new year. Thank you for your weekend coffee share.
ReplyDeleteHi Natalie - we take good health for granted don't we? It can be snatched away in a heartbeat and the climb back to "normal" can be tough. I certainly cherish every pain free step I take these days and appreciate all that my hips allow me to do - and the freedom and mobility I have again is a godsend.
DeleteI enjoyed your update Leanne, though I'm a week late commenting...I noticed a few post titles that I didn't recognize so I need to go back and read those. I'm always encouraged by your posts and sometimes challenged as well, which is a good thing.
ReplyDeleteHi Kirstin - I post every Monday and it's easy to miss a post if you've been busy or off the radar. I hope you manage to read a few of them if they interest you. My main aim with blogging (besides chatting with other bloggers) is to share the stuff that resonates with me - in the hope others find it useful too. x
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