jo burgess hannon

fit for today, fit for life

Making a list and checking it twice

by Leave a Comment

This time of year we can get caught up in shopping, wrapping, baking and cooking.  As I spoke to a close friend on the phone, I glanced at my list on the counter and realized that it did not really matter.  She wasn’t distraught over a president-elect, nor distraught over whether or not she finished her treat platters. Her only concern, days before Christmas, was for a family member who had checked into the hospital.

My heart aches for her, for her family.  The outlook is good, yet I can only imagine how their world has been rocked; how this season, life is going to look different from years past.

Being present over presents, that is the gift I am going to try and give to the people in my life. And I might just throw my list away  in a drawer and check it twice after the weekend is over.

Merry Christmas to you all!

Dreaming of a white Christmas

by Leave a Comment

I want to say I am a little distraught.  And then, no, just no.  I AM DISTRAUGHT.  I am distraught after a public election, where everyone with a vote hopefully voted, there is SO MUCH DISCOURSE.  Still. So much discourse.  Yes, I have an opinion.  Yes, I want to shout from the roof top my opinion.  With Christmas Eve approaching, this seems appropriate given I used to wait to hear the sleigh bells and hoof clops on my childhood house and dream of Santa coming down the chimney.

Yet, I put my blog on hold these last few weeks as I struggle:  to be myself, to have respect for differing opinions, to silence my voice as I yearn to climb the ladder to the top and share with my world.  I hesitate to be part of the loud noise of someone upset, happy or otherwise over the national election of Donald Trump.  For many reasons I hesitate.

Mostly I want people to like me.  I did not realize how strong this want was until a few years back.  I am so not a people pleaser. I am often the outspoken one in the group. I readily give my opinion.  Yet, I spend many nights with little sleep replaying over and over again an interaction, checking myself.  Was I fair, did I listen, did I do it ‘right’ or do I need to somehow clean it up?

Maybe it was more than a few years ago, when I got wired head to toe at a sleep clinic, that I figured out why I wasn’t sleeping.  Getting to sleep? No problem.  Waking up in the middle of the night and falling back to sleep, big problem.  Still is.  I am grateful for my Kindle that is backlit so I can read to quiet my brain. So is Honey, who used to be woken up by my bedside lamp. Anyway, my brain spins me wide awake as I replay a scene over and over.

And that brings me back to our 2017 President Elect.  Donald Trump is our United States President Elect. I am distraught that so Americans  are name calling and labeling those that do not think like them.

So at the risk of being unliked, unfriended or blocked, I’ll let someone else share a few paraphrased thoughts that I took from a Facebook post:

‘Good God people, some of you act as if the world has come to an end. Really? The forefathers are smiling down on us as the political system has done what it was INTENDED to do; let the people speak. It has let one vote rise above another, in a civilized way, without a revolution, a hostile take-over, or an exiled regime with new puppeteer leaders appointed by a foreign country. And, despite the media trying to create a doomsday effect, it is apparent America has chosen a new color to adorn the country. Everyone woke up today, put their boots on, walked out the door, and went about their day to better their community, their family, their life!
By the way; there were no riots or revolutions….and the stock market did not crash.
God Bless America!’

And those childhood Christmas memories?  Many winter days my dad would build a fire in the fireplace. I would be distraught on Christmas Eve, thinking Santa might bypass our house only to  wake up to an empty stocking.

Oh, the good ‘ol days when I used to sleep all night and instead of world peace I was just looking for some snow.

Taking Inventory

by Leave a Comment

Have you ever been down that rabbit hole where one task leads to another and then another and you’ve forgotten what you were there for in the first place?

I found myself this week up in our garage attic, going though a box of pictures and letters I had saved when cleaning out my mom’s things. It wasn’t intentional. I was simply taking something to long-term storage. Before I could put the item on the shelf I had to move a few boxes around. That’s when I found the old tax boxes that said, “destroy in 2016”, “destroy in 2015”, “destroy in 2014”. So I pulled those off the shelf. Then there was this open box with old-fashioned photos in cardboard sleeves from the 40’s and 50’s and file folders labeled in my mom’s handwriting with her tax files. She had saved the instruction booklets for each year, too. Remember those?

 

taxboxes
I wonder if the 2007 box is still in the attic.

 

I hit the pause button and started reading a letter from a brother my mom had saved and now I was saving. That’s kind of a weird thought; because I am SURE my daughter would have no use for this envelope if she were cleaning out my things. At the bottom of the paper, below his signature, was a note that said, “The gum is for Jo Ann.” Ah, sweet. But time for only a bit of sentiment as it was crossed out with a big scribble. What, did he chew it himself?

 

timsletter

Anyway, having had 5 memorial services in as many months  is maybe what led me back to those boxes from Mom. She has been gone for 3 years. When she died suddenly and we were cleaning out her home I was the one that ended up with the photos, letters and cards she had saved. Initially, I culled through piles on my dining room table, mailing some back to family members. Some went into the recycle. Some I just couldn’t, just couldn’t make a decision on. And I put it all away, up high in the garage where I didn’t have look at it, much.

I made decisions on a few more items this week, pushing the rest back on shelf.

In the midst of a lot of grief and national turmoil over the election of a new president, what I know for sure is that today is important. People are important. I need to love them fiercely while I can.

Oh, and dear brother, a box is coming your way.

 

 

 

What’s your plan?

by 2 Comments

file cabinet

Have you heard the phrase “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail’? I used to think this mantra was original to my father in law, who for years sent every family member an inspirational letter encouraging goal setting.  A google search gives credit to Benjamin Franklin.  Who knew? Well, probably my father in law.

With Halloween right around the corner, I daily remind myself to stick to the plan.  Yep, having consumed WAY too many miniature candy bars in the past I realized I needed to confront my weakness for itty bitty Snickers bars.  And single servings of Peanut M & M’s. And Twix. And Kit Kat. I’m not sure why these littles are so delicious: I can walk by a full size bar without a glance. They seem to be the perfect combo of everything I like.

halloween-1994-1
How did my little Husky turn into a Coug graduate?

 

When those annual letters would arrive, a hand addressed envelope mailed separately to each person, mine would sometimes sit for days, sometimes it was eagerly opened, sometimes it was weeks before I read the contents.  I knew enclosed would be a call to action, a call to plan and I wanted to be in the right mindset.

I have found myself this time of year putting all my favorite Halloween candies in my cart, telling myself I will save them for the knock on the door and the shout of “trick or treat!!!” I want to ignore my inner voice, the voice of reason, reminding me I can’t eat just one. Some years a trip a buy more has been needed: all the good stuff gone before anyone in costume had a chance to make it to the front porch. Anybody been THERE?

Failing to plan is a plan to fail.  Oh, how those empty candy wrappers can expose that.

The strategy that has worked for me is pretty simple.  I wait until the last possible minute to bring the bags home.  Then they get stored out in the garage, up high, out of sight.  The first few years I only purchased the flavors I did not like because I knew I would open the bag.  You know, like gum drops. Seriously, those might would go stale in my house.

How about you? How do you avoid consuming hundreds of extra calories this time of year?

letter

Thanks Gary Hannon for always encouraging reflection and action.