Brand new calendar...

Here we go again! It’s the start of another year. I have a fresh new calendar. It’s the old-fashioned kind made of real paper that you can write on with a real ink pen. Right now it’s all nice, neat and clean. But that will all change within just a few weeks. I will write in appointments and reminders of birthdays and other celebrations. Then I will cross out the ones that need to be moved or changed. I’m not smart enough to use a pencil so the calendar will, in fact, end up a mess of scribbles, doodles and notations.

I’ve started transferring information into the new calendar about my transition to sanity. The info is scattered, disjointed, without organization. Putting it into the calendar may make it clear as to the succession of events that must take place. I have the kind of personality that want to do everything at once. Just take an item, do it, check it off, and done. Unfortunately, there are time constraints between the items, so my method doesn’t work very well.

By now, I should be basking on the beach; turning into a cooked lobster red while enjoying the soft hot rays of the sun beating down on my barely clothed body. There should be an umbrella drink in my hand and cold snacks within my reach. I should be hosting dinner parties and going to social functions with people that I do not know. But, that’s not how things are going down.

Instead I’m still in the cold, wet, countryside and miles away from any beach at all. I’m looking for jobs; having surgeries; saving money; and mostly staying to myself. No parties. No hosting dinners. No sipping umbrella drinks. I like to think of it as the preparation before the event. This prep time is taking longer than I had thought it would

Everyone in my circle thought it would be so easy to move on with my life after Riley died. Even I am surprised that “moving on” has been so difficult. Part of it is the lack of money… although I now have a Transition Fund that is growing. Another part is leaving my great-grandkids over the holiday season. It was too difficult for me not to have Christmas with them. Deciding to go back to work took a lot of thought and calculating only to find that the job market in Tampa for Real Estate Title Examiners is barren at the present time. I keep chipping away at the issues and it’s going slow. It doesn’t match with my trait to take care of the issue and move on to the next.

I thought transitioning into my own life would be much simpler. I didn’t think about the logistics or how much time each chore would take. I just felt that I had paid my dues with taking care of Riley and I should just get on with things. I see now that it’s far more complicated that I imagined.

I want to make plans for my goals for 2019 but right now my goals seem to be to get thought each month and do as much as I can each day to get me out of the countryside and onto the beach in Florida. My primary goal as things stand today is to do all the things on my to do list so I can end up in the Sunshine State. So let’s just say my goal for 2019 is to get moved. Period. That’s all folks.

However, I will be doing some things to change things up a bit in Riley World. These will be things I can continue to do no matter where I am. I think you will like what I have planned. Things to look for this year:

1.       I have a goal to hold at least SIX presentations. Ideally, I’d like to do one a month, but I’ll settle for six right now.

2.       Publishing of the sequel to Immortal Alcoholic’s Wife. Look for the announcement that the book is available around the first of March.

3.       The cookbook I started several years ago will be completed and published before the end of the summer – 2019.

4.       I will be putting more “smallish” books together and getting them on the market quicker than the full book that I usually write.

5.       By the end of the summer, I want to get out on the road for my book tour. FINALLY.

6.       Look for a new blog emerge from all the chaos. It will contain a variety of posts on a variety of topics. It will be about things learned from living life; housekeeping tips; beauty tips; and comments about different points of view. It will not be so serious as Immortal Alcoholic, but will still contain helpful suggestions for moving on in life. Watch out for Suzy Q… it will be her blog.

So my plate is full. On the calendar this week is my appointment with the orthopedic surgeon to set a date for my shoulder surgery. I’ll also be continuing my job search. Best of all, I’ll be conferring with “Suzy Q” about her first post on her new blog.

May all of you enjoy a happy, peaceful and quiet New Year!