2021 - A Year of Health
I tend to start thinking in terms of next year’s goals every year when November comes. I don’t like to wait until January for my resolutions; I like a head start.
2020 was a hard year for everyone. We were all affected by the global Covid-19 pandemic. Although my struggles with that were admittedly mild compared to people who were not as fortunate to have a job they can easily do from home, it doesn’t mean I didn’t struggle. We all lived in a country torn apart by bigotry and political fights; I am a queer woman, which places me in a marginalized community, however as a white, cis-woman, my experience was, once again, largely privileged.
I lost my mother, very suddenly, to cancer— an outcome I could never have imagined at the start of the year. I still can’t believe it. But I was here with her and so many people lost loved ones this year without even being allowed to see them due to Covid. It’s hard to count my blessings when it comes to my mother’s death, but I know she would want me to be grateful for the time I got rather than bitter about the time stolen from us. I want to try to keep that focus on gratitude and that includes not throwing away my gifts— specifically the gift of good health.
The Germans have a lot of great words the English language lacks, my favorite of which is ‘kummerspeck’. It literally translates to ‘grief bacon’ and refers to the weight one gains while overindulging during a time of grieving. I’ve got me some.
This is not a weight loss blog and never will be, but I will not pretend that I’m fine with how I look right now. Part of that is the fat under my chin and my puffy face and bleary dark circled eyes. Part of it is my slumping posture due to back pain from sitting around too much. Part of it is my dry broken-out skin from not drinking enough water, eating too much sugar and generally scratching at any blemish that shows up until I’ve made it much much worse. And part of it is that none of my clothes fit quite right. In my grief I’ve let bad habits take over again and my appearance shows the evidence of that mental and physical struggle. I have not been running. I have not been drawing. I have not been practicing my banjo. I have not been keeping up with housework. I have not been myself.
It’s time to get back to being who I am.
Goals to work toward in 2021:
Gain some muscle. Specifically I want to strengthen my back and core, and tone up my shoulders and arms— Right now I have a sprained wrist so I’ll need to be careful not to let that injury persist.
Get back to being able to run a 5k easily in around 30 to 35 minutes.
Learn at least one song on the banjo.
Complete a mural on the outside of my house.
Draw something every week.
How am I going to do these things:
Recommit to my habit of drinking at least 64 oz of water a day and taking a D supplement and B complex. My diet should be comprised of mostly vegetables and mostly homemade and I should be defaulting to water with meals, not wine— I cannot be defaulting to Postmates and wine every evening.
Leave the house at least once a day with my Josie for a full hour of walking/running/frolicking and build up to more running than walking on our outings. I might do a couch to 5k plan after I get my baseline back to where it should be.
Practice the damn banjo. Just do it. Even if I don’t feel like it. There are great youtube tutorials out there, I am going to find one and stick with it.
My brothers in law have been kind enough to offer to paint the stucco on the outside of my house, once they do, it will be ready for me to paint a mural over it. I’ve begun brainstorming what that might be and I’m gonna make it happen.
The people who put out the prompts for Inktober have another challenge called Inktober52 where they put out a new prompt every week. I wanted to do it this year but I didn’t make it happen, so seems like it’s time for another attempt.